Desert Jewels eye Commonwealth inclusion after 2025 UAE Cup

Namibia’s Debmarine Desert Jewels are set to compete in their first international tournament of the year at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Netball Cup.They are the highest-ranked team at the tournament, which takes place from this Sunday until 21 June at the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall in Dubai.The team received a send-off from the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) yesterday in Windhoek ahead of their departure tomorrow.Namibia will go up against teams from around the world, including hosts UAE, the United States (US), Ireland, Singapore and Kenya.Selected national teamThe Desert Jewels will field a team of twelve, led by captain Anna Kaspar and vice-captain Mwale Mulenamaswe. The contingent includes two senior team debutants: goal defender/goal keeper (GD/GK) Melitta Hunga and goal attacker (GA) Loide Kanyolo from the U21 team.The rest of the players are Monique Basson, Zante Farmer, Imbileni Frans, Monica Gomases, Elisia Hambongo, Louise Kausehue, Grace Matyayi and Anna Shipanga.Head coach Julene Meyer is assisted by coach Eve Kamutushi, specialised coach Dorette Badenhorst, team manager Malan Elago, technical director Seu Gowases, medic Maria Mulunga and Netball Namibia’s newly elected president Juanitha Witbeen as head of delegation.Coach Meyer assured that the team is well prepared, conditioned and ready to go. “We have been training for the past 10 days. As the highest-ranked team at the tournament, we intend to win it and move up the world rankings,” she said.According to World Netball, Namibia is currently ranked 18th in the world, with Australia leading the standings.Eyeing Commonwealth GamesShe added that winning the tournament increases their chances of being included in the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games in Scotland. Previous editions of the Games featured the top 12 world-ranked teams, including the host nation.“We are making a very strong bid to be included in the Commonwealth teams, which will be announced on 30 September,” she remarked.She further assured that the team is working very hard to make the selection cut, a goal supported by its two debutant reinforcements.“One of the debutants, Melitta, was involved in the Africa Netball Cup held in Swakopmund in December as a non-travelling reserve. Another U21 youngster in the team is Grace Matyayi, who debuted at the Africa Cup.“These youngsters will play a key role in this tournament alongside the experienced players.“We’ll be transitioning two players in the team, moving captain Kaspar to goal shooter (GS) and Hambongo into the goal attack (GA) circle. There’s a lot happening performance-wise and development-wise in this tournament and it’s preparation for clinical events,” she said.She added that there is one more change in the team that she would not reveal, calling it “an ace up our sleeve.”Captain Kaspar said she has seen the team’s growth throughout training and is confident in their readiness. “We are looking forward to finally putting our training to use and going for gold,” she assured.– mariud@nsh.com.na

Desert Jewels eye Commonwealth inclusion after 2025 UAE Cup

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-31

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Desert Jewels eye Commonwealth inclusion after 2025 UAE Cup

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-31

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