Kenya national netball team coach Tapiwa Chirenda/HANDOUTNew Kenya national netball coach Tapiwa Chirenda believes Kenya can become one of Africa’s netball powerhouses within the next two years as they chase historic World Cup qualification.
Chirenda, who has previously coached Zimbabwe’s women’s and men’s national teams, says Kenya are a “sleeping giant” whose steady rise in the rankings could soon translate into major success on the continental stage.
“The Kenyan team is good, and it has been coming up in rankings all through the years,” said Chirenda, who has been working with the team for the past two weeks.
The Zimbabwean coach is expected to lead Kenya at the Africa Cup qualifiers scheduled for September 19-26 in Nairobi, where the top two teams will qualify for the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia.
South Africa and Uganda have already secured their places at the global showpiece. Chirenda is keen to draw on his experience in Zimbabwe and across Africa to help Kenya make a major impact on home soil, insisting the foundation laid by previous coaches gives him reason to be optimistic.
“The other coaches have done a good job prior to my coming here. I see Kenya going far in the next two years; it can become one of the powers of Africa,” he said.
The coach, who is contracted to remain with Team Kenya until the end of the championship, will face an interesting test when his adopted side comes up against his native Zimbabwe in the qualifiers. “Obviously, my loyalty will be with my new adopted country, Kenya,” he assured.
Chirenda has also promised Kenyan fans an attractive style of play as he attempts to end the country’s long wait for a first appearance at the Netball World Cup. “To the Kenyan fans, what I can promise them is you’ll see a different brand of netball,” he said.
Meanwhile, Africa Netball technical delegate Magriet Bester has praised preparations for the qualifiers after nearly 200 officials attended a technical course in Nairobi.
Bester, Head of Technical at Rector Ampas from Netball South Africa, said the training focused on scorekeeping, timekeeping and statistics, with officials from Uganda also taking part.
She described the turnout as encouraging and said she will return to Kenya a week before the September 19 start of the tournament for a refresher course to ensure all technical preparations are in place. The qualifiers will feature Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Kenya have never qualified for the Netball World Cup, while Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all previously featured at the global tournament.
