THE netball under-21 team coach Tapiwa Chirenda has set his team a top four target at the upcoming Netball World Youth Cup 2025 Africa qualifiers scheduled for March 18 to March 23 in Pretoria, South Africa.
The team trooped into camp on Sunday at Girls High School in the capital with a provisional squad of 30 players.
This tourney is making a return since 2017 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Top teams from the region are expected to take part in the competition in which the top four teams will book slots for the Youth World Cup in Gibraltar in September next year.
In an interview with NewsDay Sport, Chirenda said the team will be banking on the experience of some players who have international exposure.
“We are happy that most of our players are with seasoned league campaigners and have been with various national team age groups at some point. That goes a long way in boosting confidence and experience in our team. Going into this competition it is our wish that Zimbabwe qualify among the top four teams and not only that but also sending warning shots on how we are going to roll in Gibraltar next year,” Chirenda said.
“Since we have undergone the initial selection process which was an evidently rigorous and transparent exercise for all those who witnessed abundant Zimbabwe young talent on display, we are happy that we managed to come up with a pool of youngsters who are still energetic and willing to represent the country at such platforms. With the probable squad, we now only must polish on basics and set plays with my technical team and we are good to go.”
The squad will be trimmed to 15 on Saturday.
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