Why Taifa Queens struggled in NWYC2025
TANZANIA: IN the just-ended Netball World Youth Cup 2025 U-21 Africa Qualifiers in South Africa, the national youth team faced significant challenges due to inadequate experience and preparation.
The youth squad spent less than a month in camp, depriving the team of the opportunity to build cohesion. Coach Haleluya Edward emphasised the need for thorough preparation in netball to build physical, teamwork, and an understanding of winning strategies.
“We struggled in both attack and defence. My advice to the government is to ensure a longer camp, at least two months, to foster team cohesion,” stated Edward.
The coach highlighted areas of weakness during the tournament, particularly in attack and defence. He attributed these weaknesses to the lack of international tournament experience among his players and being outmatched in height.
“Our players have smaller frames compared to those of other national teams. Height and inexperience of our players in international competitions have put us at a disadvantage in both attack and defence,” Edward explained.
Team Captain Catherine Bunzali identified several areas needing improvement for the team to perform well in international competitions.
Bunzali emphasised that the national netball team struggled predominantly in attack and decisionmaking on the field.
She suggested extending training camps and collective practice sessions to address these challenges.
“We players come from different regions of the country, so we need more time for collective training compared to what we had before this tournament,” Bunzali emphasised.
Additionally, Bunzali stressed the importance of strength and speed, recommending the areas to receive more focus.
Despite the team’s poor performance in the tournament, Captain Bunzali commended the players for following the coach’s instructions and showing dedication on the field.
“We may not have performed well, but we take pride in our efforts and the good level of play we exhibited, even managing to produce outstanding players,” Bunzali said.
In the U-21 NWYC2025 tournament, Tanzania lost all matches, finishing last as the team conceded more goals and scored fewer goals than any other participating nation.
The tournament featured seven teams, all highly ranked in Africa’s national netball team standings, including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The Chairperson of the Netball Association of Tanzania (CHANETA), Dr Devotha Marwa, noted that despite facing professional netball players from countries like South Africa, Tanzanian girls demonstrated talent and only needed more training and development opportunities.
Like the team captain Bunzali’s comment, Marwa too attributed the lack of cohesion, resulting from insufficient camp duration, as the main factor contributing to the National Queens’ struggles.
“The players fought hard despite having only a two-week camp. Competing against professional netball players like those from South Africa was not easy,” Dr Marwa explained.
She added that the challenge stemmed from the fact that the players’ only previous platform was the inter-secondary schools’ competitions (UMISETA).
In the tournament, South Africa finished first with 12 points, Malawi secured second place with 10 points, and Zimbabwe claimed third place with 6 points, while Tanzania finished at the bottom with no points.
