She Cranes’ superb World Cup show good for netball’s future

Uganda’s She Cranes fifth-place finish at the just-concluded 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa set the bar too high for all stakeholders and could be a springboard for the sport’s brighter future unless the hype is mismanaged.

On Sunday, August 6, the She Cranes beat South Africa’s SPAR Proteas 49-47 in front of a partisan fan base to take the continent’s top most spot.

Three days earlier, the She Cranes lost 50-52 to South Africa in the two-sides final group G game. So, Sunday’s victory was sweet revenge for the She Cranes.

In their earlier games at the world event, the She Cranes beat Singapore (79-37), Trinidad & Tobago (74-33), Wales (73-56) and Malawi (57- 46). They lost to New Zealand (44-54) and Jamaica (49-61). She Cranes’ Shadia Nassanga, who was one of Uganda’s top performers at this World Cup, scooped player-of-the-match awards in three of the aforementioned games.

Margaret Baagala, Irene Eyaru, Shaffie Nalwanja and Mary Nuba also won player-of-the-match gongs. For sure, Uganda’s performance in Cape Town wasn’t a gamble but, rather, coach Fred Mugerwa’s planning despite the challenges. It should be recalled that Mugerwa, who bitterly complained about being abused and not paid salary, assembled a relatively new team.

He retained only Mary Nuba and Stella Nanfuka from the side that played at the 2019 event in Liverpool. Uganda’s takeover as the continent’s most top netball-playing nation means Kampala has the technical potential to do what Cape Town did – but only if the right people are recruited in the right positions.

For instance, Sarah Kanyike, a former netballer and netball teacher, is a waste in her role as presidential advisor on Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Affairs.

Hosting a tournament of such magnitude would require devotion in setting up infrastructure in an identified sports city – which work the UPDF’s engineering department is capable of handling within a specified time.

That said, credit should be given to South Africa for succesfully staging the world event on the continent for the first time. Indeed, as hosts of the tournament, Cape Town will remain a memorable place to both players and officials.

Overall, Australia beat England 61-45 in the final to their 12th World Cup title in history. Jamaica won bronze while New Zealand, the 2019 champions, finished fourth. Sixteen nations competed in the event.

This article originally appeared on The Observer.

Image via IOL.