Financial crisis hits teams’ preparations ahead of big event

Netball World Cup 2015

By Hishan Welmilla

With just 12 days to go to raise the curtain of the most prestigious netball event of the year, the World Cup Netball 2015, all teams are geared up to make a mark.

The Netball World Cup will unfold from 7-16 August in the city of Sydney, Australia with a participation of 16 top teams in the world.

When the money rich nations throw away millions of dollars in preparation some are struggling event find the air passage to the event.

The financial struggle facing many of world’s best netball teams has been brought into sharp focus with the governing body of Uganda, the world number 13, running events where national players wash cars for $22 per vehicle just so the ‘She-Cranes’ can make the Netball World Cup, where they are a realistic chance of making the top eight.

Uganda, a nation which many major netball administrators see as the potential new powerhouse, say the $220,000 given to them by their government is not enough and have resorted to the drastic action to fully fund the trip.

They received another bowl as the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF) on Friday announced that it had fired the national coach Fred Mugerwa over what it called indiscipline.

UNF President Susan Ongom told international media in an interview that they received communication from the World Cup organisers, International Netball Federation, to drop Mugerwa because of his remarks that referees were biased during the recent Six Nations Challenge in South Africa.

It is not the only tale of hardship. Spending at least 10 days in Sydney, one of the world’s most expensive cities, is a tough task for nations where the average salary is often only a few hundred Australian dollars a month.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan National Side hasn’t played any international matches since last year. They took part in the Asian Championship in Singapore where they had the opportunity of playing with few international teams and only Singapore has made in to the world Cup. They could not afford any friendly internationals as the financial situation of the local governing body is not in very good shape. The Sri Lankan National Netball Team also looks for the support of the local government to get the funds needed to make it to the World Cup which happened to be a lifetime achievement for the players.

Take world number five, the dazzling Malawi Queens, from one of world’s poorest countries, according to the IMF. They don’t have the money to pay for any practice matches leading up to the tournament and currently players are training on asphalt, outdoor courts and do not have access to a gym.

Malawi, officially the most successful sporting team the East African nation of 16 million people has ever produced, are a good bet to finish as high as fifth or sixth of the 16 teams contesting this year’s tournament.

It’s a similar tale for the Zambian side, who come into the Sydney World Cup as an unknown quantity, having not played outside of Africa since 1999. At club and community level, netball is often played on makeshift grass courts.

Perhaps what is even more astounding is just how good some of these sides are. Malawi almost upset world number two, New Zealand, at last year’s Commonwealth Games. The Silver Ferns have access to gyms as well as sport scientists from various disciplines and most of the team is filled with players who are (or very close to being) full-time professional athletes.

It is the Jamaican national side though which continues to punch well above its weight. Another side which often practices outdoors, Jamaica is a small island nation with just a few thousand registered players (as opposed to Australia which has 360,000), but the athletically gifted and increasingly skilled Sunshine Girls have finished in the top four at every major world netball event since 1991. The Jamaicans are one of only a handful of sides to have beaten both the Australian Diamonds and the New Zealand Silver Ferns.

The Sunshine Girls beat England to take bronze at last year’s Commonwealth Games, and could cause a few upsets again this year. But the team, which has been unable to afford tours to play against the Diamonds and Silver Ferns since 2011, is asking for public donations to make Augusts’ Netball World Cup.

It’s tricky to know where the solution lies for the perpetual problem of money shortfalls in international netball.

Africa will be represented by Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and South Africa. The other teams that will compete at the 2015 Netball World Cup include hosts Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, England, Jamaica, Scotland, Samoa, Fiji, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Netball’s popularity as a spectator sport is rising across the many Western nations, and the potential to tap a bigger global audience might hold the solution to the lack of cash. International netball is a bigger seller and a bigger TV rather than even the semi-professional Championships; this is despite the fact there is a lack of depth in international teams. A few strong mid-tier teams like Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania Trinidad, USA, Samoa and Fiji would give the game even more.