Suburban
Zimbabwe were drawn in Pool A with world number one ranked Australia, Tonga and Fiji when the draw for the 2023 Netball World Cup took place at the East London International Convention Centre, in South Africa on Wednesday evening.
Malawi were placed in Pool B with England, Scotland and Barbados while hosts South Africa were grouped in Pool C with Jamaica, Wales and Sri Lanka.
Uganda is in Pool D with 2019 world champions New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Singapore.
The Netball World Cup will be staged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from July 28 to August 6, 2023.
It will be the first time the tournament will be held in Africa.
The Zimbabwe side, nicknamed the Gems, made their World Cup debut at the Liverpool edition in 2019, where they finished eighth out of the 16 participating nations.
Meanwhile, South Africa ended their campaign in fourth place at the last edition in 2019 at Liverpool and will be eager to impress on home soil.
SA were announced as the host of the event by the International Netball Federation (INF) in 2019, months before the staging of the 2019 edition in Liverpool, England
Cape Town’s bid, supported by the SA government and the Western Cape, was selected by the International Netball Federation ahead of a bid by Auckland, New Zealand.
Prior to the draw, the top eight teams – as per their world rankings – had already been seeded into their groups, with Australia and Tonga in Group A, England and Malawi in Group B, South Africa and Jamaica in Group C, and New Zealand and Uganda in Group D.
“It is very exciting to be at this stage of the competition, with all 16 teams confirmed,” said Liz Nicholl CBE, President of World Netball.
“My congratulations to all the teams that vied for success in the qualifier tournaments.
“It was a joy to see the matches broadcast widely around the world, reaching new audiences, and giving our sport the visibility it deserves.
“It is Africa’s time to shine.”
The draw in full:
Group A: Australia, Tonga, Zimbabwe, Fiji
Group B: England, Malawi, Scotland, Barbados
Group C: South Africa, Jamaica, Wales, Sri Lanka
Group D: New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore – zimsportlive/skysports
