National netball team ‘Taifa Queens’ has withdrawn from the Africa regional netball World Cup qualifiers tournament which throws-off today in Gaborone, Botswana due to financial hardship.
The Tanzania Amateur Netball Association, CHANETA, Chairperson Anna Kibira confirmed in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Tanzania has pulled out from the qualifiers due to lack of funds to send team to Gaborane.
According to Kibira, CHANETA needed about 68m/- to facilitate the team’s participation in the tournament which begins today and is scheduled to wind up on September 20.
She said the money required was for a return tickets, meals and accommodation during the tournament. Kibira further said that at first they needed about 150m/- to facilitate the team’s camp in the country, return tickets, meals and accommodation during the tournament.
CHANETA boss also said that her association had already paid the annual fee for 2013, but yet to pay this year’s fee which is about 250 US dollars to the Netball Federation of Africa and 465 pounds to the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA).
The other countries vying for the two of the four African slots in the World Cup are Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Botswana and Swaziland.
Malawi and South Africa automatically qualify by virtue of finishing in the top six in the last edition in Singapore in 2011. The 2015 tournament will be held in Sydney, Australia, which secured hosting rights after defeating a rival bid from Manchester, England.
Sixteen nations will compete at the championships, including the top six teams from the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore Hosts Australia, New Zealand, England and Jamaica also have their automatic places.
The remaining ten teams will be determined in regional qualifying tournaments. Two teams will be selected from each of the five international netball regions Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Sixteen teams will contest the 2015 tournament.
Source Tanzania Daily News