By McGeorge Mbare
THE countdown is now less than 48 hours before the Zimbabwe women’s national netball team, the Gems, take to the court at the Netball World Cup Qualifiers in Nairobi, Kenya.
The qualifiers are scheduled to get underway on September 19, 2026.
The Gems head into the qualifiers with one major objective, to finish among the two teams that will join South Africa and Uganda, who have already secured qualification for the 2027 Netball World Cup.
The Gems are led by former Uganda national team coach Fred Mugerwa, who serves as technical director, while Ropafadzo Mutsauki is the head coach.
Tatenda Shinya, the former Beitbridge Border Stars coach, is the assistant coach, with Albert Ngorima serving as the fitness trainer.
The Gems have been drawn in Pool 1 alongside Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania.
Zimbabwe will begin their qualifying campaign against Botswana at the MOI International Sports Centre on Saturday, September 19, at 2:30pm, before facing South Africa at 4:00pm the following day.
After their clash with South Africa, the Gems will take on Namibia at 2:00pm on Monday, September 21, before concluding their qualifying campaign against East African side Tanzania on Tuesday, September 23, at 2:00pm.
At the previous Netball World Cup, the Gems were drawn in the same pool as South Africa and Namibia, with Zimbabwe emerging victorious in both encounters.
Fast forwad 2026 ,they are drawn into the same pool.
Speaking about facing South Africa and Namibia once again, Gems assistant coach Shinya praised his team’s preparations and expressed confidence ahead of the qualifiers.
“Definitely, we are looking forward to beating them and we will beat them and qualify for the World Cup 2027,” Shinya said.
The Gems boast a pool of talented players, including their outstanding goalkeeper, Elizabeth Mushore and sensational goal shooter Thandazile Ndlovu, who recently made history by becoming the first Zimbabwean-based player to compete in the Deloitte Netball Super League in Singapore.