STAFF WRITER
EIGHTEEN teams will battle for honours in a newly formed Premier Netball League (PNL) that will get underway at the end of September.
The league will be preceded by a 20-team tournament at White City Netball Complex in Bulawayo on September 25.
Launched under the tagline Promoting Girl Child through Sport, the PNL will be staged in a bio-bubble concept in line with Covid-19 health protocols.
In a speech read on her behalf, PNL chairperson Thabiso Mukoena said the league will be a conveyor belt of talent ensuring that the national netball team does not suffer a dearth of players while at the same time providing a platform for netball players across the country to sharpen their skills.
“The PNL is a professional league which will not only horn skills of our netball athletes but will also ensure that Zimbabwe netball remains adept to current world trends. Though in its infancy, this great professional team has had to fight the Covid pandemic which threatened to derail the launch of this exciting and mouth watering league,” Mokoena said.
“We hope to see netball turn into a professional sport as several countries have done so far worldwide. We will run an almost parallel structure to PSL,” she said.
The 18 teams expected to fight for honours in the league include Belvedere Technical Teachers College, Blue Angels, Bulawayo Queens, Bulawayo Stars, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Correctional Service, Goldreef, Green Fuel, Harare District, Harare City, Lupane State University, Masvingo City Stars, Masvingo Pirates, Mpandawana, Mutare City, Ngezi Platinum, Platinum Queens, Rhinos, WaterFalls and University of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe Netball captain Felistas Kwangwa said the formation of the league is a breath of fresh air for the country’s netball players.
“It is not a secret that for you to play competitively you need a competitive league. This league will give us an opportunity to do what we do best. This is something we have longed for the past 18 months when sport has been closed out due to Covid restrictions,” she said.
Zimbabwe Netball Association (ZINA) president Letitia Chipandu said the launch of the top-tier professional league will set the platform for a stronger national team.
“Today we see the birth of an elite netball league that will push for the right to play for every girl that wants a shot at representing their country, Zimbabwe and this is why we are so excited to be here to endorse this launch, which has our full support,” Chipandu said.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe netball captain Kwangwa unveiled her own personalised netball courtesy of her role as the brand ambassador of world renowned sports equipment manufacturing brand Gilbert Netball.
Gilbert is one of the world’s most established sports equipment manufacturing brands, specialising in rugby union and netball.
Kwanga said netball enthusiasts will be able to buy her signature netball online for £15.
The Zimbabwe captain became the Gilbert Netball brand ambassador in December last year. This was after becoming the first Zimbabwe netball player to sign a professional contract with a top English side, Surrey Storm.
