…….lose 30-68 to Uganda
The Netball Africa Cup 2026 entered its second day on Sunday with tournament debutants Nigeria taking the court in the final game of the day. The Green Hawks played against the She-Cranes of Uganda in a David v Goliath game which ended up being quite entertaining but a good lesson in how far ahead some of these countries have gone in the sport.
The match ended 68-30 to the Ugandans who, for the records, is the second best team in Africa and the sixth best in the world, which marked a second straight defeat for the young Nigerians.
Analysts at the arena commented positively on the spirit the Green Hawks showed and even opined that it was an improvement on the previous performance especially considering the formidable profile of the Ugandans who, as a matter of fact, have already qualified for the Netball World Cup 2027 by virtue of their high world ranking.
The match was witnessed by the High Commissioner of Nigeria to Kenya who applauded the drive and passion of the girls and expressed hope that there was indeed a future for dominance by Nigeria in the netball world, given time.
Netball is a fast growing sport with this development and it is interesting to observe that while it has stable roots in most nations of the Commonwealth and also in east and Southern Africa, Nigeria’s participation is the first entry in this tournament by any West African nation.
The tournament continues and the Green Hawks will still hope they can salvage something from it as they face another test against Malawi in less than 24 hours.