By Amaechi Agbo
The Director-General of the National Sports Commission Hon. Bukola Olopade has drummed up the Commission’s resolve to ensure that Nigeria dominates netball in Africa and becomes a force to be reckoned with globally.
Hon. Olopade’s enthusiasm was heightened after watching the nation’s netball team Green Hawks defeat Pakistan 33-12 in a netball exhibition match at the Nigeria Diaspora Talents Development Committee multi-sport event at the Hertfordshire Games Village UK on Friday July 17.
This is coming after the team’s debut international outing against Scotland in Glasgow last week. They lost that game but the experience sufficed in the game against Pakistan.
Hon. Olopade could not hide his excitement after watching his first netball game in a long time. Addressing the team, he said “That was an amazing performance. I saw a few moves and saw good camaraderie amongst you girls that convinced me that our decision to build a team and to institutionalise netball in Nigeria was a good one. You are going to be a part of something big. We are ready to dominate Africa and we will provide all the support you need to get there.”
The match served as further preparation for the upcoming Africa series of the 2027 Netball World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Nairobi Kenya in September. Nigeria is looking to use its first ever netball national team to take part in an international competition for the first time and qualify for the Netball World Cup in Sydney Australia in 2027.
The team is being handled by former England international Alison Akinrinlola supported by the former coach of Jamaican netball team, Connie Francis.
Next stop will be Durham in the north east of England, where the Green Hawks will take on the Jamaican national team who are also preparing for the Commonwealth Games that starts this week in Glasgow. Jamaica is world number 3 in netball and a game against such formidable opponents will be a statement of intent for what Nigeria wants to do on the international scene.
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