She Cranes stars likely to sign with Australian teams

Aug 17, 2015

The Netball World Cup will transform the lives of some of the She Cranes players that represented Uganda in Sydney.


By Samson Opus & David Namunyala

The Netball World Cup will transform the lives of some of the She Cranes players that represented Uganda in Sydney, Australia.

Uganda concluded the Netball World Cup 2015 in 8th place, registering the best ever performance at the World Cup. The last time the east African nation had participated at the top level of the sport was in 1979 in Trinidad and Tobago, finishing the competition in 13th place.

After the 2011 edition, Malawi’s GA/GS Mwayi Kumwenda was scouted and became the first African netball player to sign for the Australia New Zealand (ANZ) Championship franchise.

The Malawian went on to become one of the best shooters with the Canterbury Tactix in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Kumwenda has been an asset at goal for the Malawi Queens.

But with the great show that has been exhibited by Rachael Nanyonga, Ruth Meeme and Halima Nakachwa, their future is yet to be decided.

After featuring in the Super Eight, the trio have become a hit in Sydney.

After having a good show in the Six Nations Cup in Singapore, Uganda’s goal shooter Peace Proscovia was picked for a professional stint by Loughborough Lightning in the United Kingdom.

Having put up some fine play in eight matches in 10 days, lady luck is set to call on Nanyonga, Meeme and Nakachwa.

According to radio and TV talks spreading around Sydney, the three might not return to Uganda as they are potential players to be scouted for professional netball.

Goal attacker Nanyonga has so far scored 136 goals out of 170 attempts, meanwhile mid-fielders Meeme and Nakachwa have a record of 88 and 55 assists respectively.

During every World Cup tournament, various players land life-changing opportunities. After the 2007 event, a young and timid Jamaican Aiken Romelda was offered a contract with the Queensland Firebirds to play in the Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) Championship trans-Tasman competition.



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