The Debmarine Desert Jewels and the national men's netball teams are ready to participate in the Africa Netball Cup in Swakopmund this year.
The country will once again host the games from 9-14 December 2024.
"The girls have been training hard, incredibly hard. We've been in our training camp last weekend, working on systems, and everything that goes with it. We believe the girls are ready. They are physically ready. They are mentally in a better position. We are ready to give Africa a very good competitive network. We are going to give it everything we have.
At the end of the day, the ball is round. So, if we take the cup, we take it," assistant coach Eve Kamutushi said on Thursday at the team's send-off.
The prestigious event is expected to attract over 10 countries, featuring both male and female netball teams, marking a historic moment for the nation as it introduces its first male netball team.
The National Men's Netball Team head coach, Salomon Tuaire, said after a long battle to make the sport inclusive for men, it has become a reality.
The team will be participating in the cup for the first time.
"This inception comes after a long, extraneous wait for men's netball to be recognised at this platform, especially in our country.
We are just barely breaking ground. We are competing against teams or countries that have been running leagues for some time," Tuaire said.
He said being invited to participate in the event is a triumph in its own right.
"We had a very short time to prepare, but we are getting there slowly but surely. We ought to fine-tune in the next week before the commencement of the games," he said.
Netball Namibia president Rebekka Goagoses expressed gratitude for Debmarine's support in hosting the cup this year and said the boys have to work hard on the court to acquire a sponsor.
Speaking at the send-off ceremony of the two national netball teams, she said, Namibia is privileged to host the cup again as the country did it in 2019, but on a small scale.
"However, now we have to adhere to certain requirements of World Netball. It's big and exciting at the same time. We cannot overemphasise our gratitude to Debmarine Namibia. They have taken care of the Desert Jewels.
Seven years ago, we were in a respectable position in the world rankings. We were number 19. When we started with netball in 2014, we were nowhere on the table. But if you compare that history and where we are now, it's a significant improvement because of the support from Debmarine," she said.
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She added: "People don't understand why a national team should go play outside. It's exposure; it's international; it's not the same level as when you play in the country. So, you need to send your girls out so they can compete outside, because we are preparing ourselves for the World Cup."
She said the games will be played indoors, and it must be on a specific floor.
"We call it a sprung floor. So, we said we could host; we'd go around and get support to procure or tent a sprung floor. Luckily, we got the government on board, which has, in principle, agreed to purchase two sprung floors for us, which will also be used for the Youth Games next year. But then, because of the timing, transport, and import, the sprung floor won't be here on time. So, we went back to Debmarine and said, assist us in bringing the sprung floor, and Debmarine said yes. That's why I said we cannot overemphasise the support Debmarine has for netball," she underscored.
