Much has been said about Nigeria entering the international fray in global netball circles and when the team arrived in Nairobi for the Netball Africa Cup which is holding in the East African city from 19-26 September, all eyes were certainly on the team from a nation that many in the world have come to respect for sporting excellence over the years.
The young team was scheduled to make its bow against hosts Kenya in the match immediately after the opening ceremony of the tournament at the Moi International Stadium Kasarani Nairobi.
It was a 40-61 deficit against a more experienced and physical Kenya team but that was not the headline. The performance of the Nigerian Green Hawks with the youngest average age per player in the tournament was eye catching as they gave a good account of themselves.
Many in the crowd applauded the effort and application of a team that was only assembled a few months ago and expressed hope that with Nigeria’s entry into the international fray of netball, the future looked bright.
One of the star players of the day was Odiri Atirene who had an impressive conversion rate at the net and used height and physique to wrestle a lot of balls in the wake of an intimidating defence line of the Kenyans. The crowd was very supportive and expectedly partisan towards the home team and that added to the early jitters the Nigerians suffered in the first quarter – a first quarter of international netball in the nation’s history.
The tournament continues. Two teams out of eight will emerge as qualifiers for the Netball World Cup scheduled for Sydney Australia in summer 2027.
It is a wonderful feat performance exhibited by the youthful inexperienced assembled three months old Nigerian team participating for the first time in the netball game. I congratulate them, the players, the team and the crew.