THE Zimbabwe senior netball team has stepped up preparations for the inaugural Celtic Cup, which takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, early next month.
Zimbabwe will compete against Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland in the tournament scheduled to run from November 7 to 10 at the Emirates Arena.
The tournament was created by the three European countries to provide the best competitive tournament for athletes and spectators outside the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
But for the Gems, it is an opportunity to enhance the team’s strength, strategy and team work as they prepare for their 2027 World Cup which will be held in Australia.
“The preparations are going well, but we are facing some challenges, whereby we are not having enough time for training. Sometimes we are not training because we need to make sure every player has a visa,” Gems coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki told NewsDay Sport.
“We have 15 players left in the camp and 12 players are going to participate at the tournament and the final team will be selected the day before the tournament.”
He added: “The tournament is very important to Zimbabwe Netball Association and Zimbabwe as a whole because Scotland is a higher-ranked team and helps gauge our level of preparation. The team will also stand to get exposure to different playing styles as Scotland is top-ranked allowing us to adapt and learn new strategies.”
Currently, Zimbabwe are ranked number 13.
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The tournament will follow a round robin format from Thursday to Saturday, with the finals set for November 10.
Next year, Zimbabwe will also play against reigning champions Australia in another netball test series.
