One Year To Netball World Cup in Sydney
The countdown to Netball’s most prestigious event has well and truly begun with one year until the first whistle at the Netball World Cup in Sydney, 2015.
And if the Netball competition at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games is anything to go by, netballing fans around the world are set for some exciting matches.
The recent tournament demonstrated that the gap between the top netballing nations is closing. Never before at a pinnacle event have England and Jamaica come so close to toppling the sports’ two frontrunners Australia and New Zealand.
It all bodes well for the Netball World Cup in August, 2015 and will make for a sensational and more unpredictable competition in Sydney. Malawi, who are ranked fifth in the world, showed they are no easy-beats either, falling three goals short of beating the kiwis in pool play in Glasgow which would have been the upset of the event. Malawi have never beaten New Zealand before, and they’ll have 12 months to wonder what could have been until the teams possibly meet again at Sydney Olympic Park.
Many netballing nations around the globe are preparing to qualify for the event with six spots still up for grabs. Canada, Singapore and Botswana will all host regional qualifying events over the next seven weeks to decide which two nations will qualify from each of the American, Asian and African regions. These final six teams will form the 16 nations competing in the 14th edition of the Netball World Cup.
The ten teams already confirmed to compete in Sydney are; Australia, New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Malawi, South Africa, Wales, Scotland, Fiji and Samoa. The first six nations gained automatic entry due to their world rankings.
With end of year test matches dates in place for Australia, New Zealand and England, the three nations have a clear path ahead for their Netball World Cup preparation.
Trans-Tasman rivalry will be to the fore with Netball’s Constellation Cup between New Zealand and Australia taking place during October with four cities hosting the four-test New World Netball Series; Invercargill, Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney.
To add to the mix, England are also scheduled to play four matches down under in October, playing Australia and the Silver Ferns twice.