Kenya’s national women’s netball team, the La Divas, head into the 2026 Africa Netball Cup with new coach Tapiwa Chirenda confident that his charges are ready to make a strong start against Nigeria.
The Africa Netball Cup will be held in Kenya from September 19-26 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena and Kasarani Annex, with the La Divas opening their campaign against Nigeria.
Chirenda, who has been in charge for almost a month, believes that the team had made significant progress during their preparations and was ready for the continental challenge.
“I think prior to my coming here and in the early days, we have worked on a lot of things,” said Chirenda.
“From what I saw from yesterday’s training session, things have come up even better than I expected in such a short period of time.”
The Zimbabwean coach believes the changes introduced during his brief tenure will produce a faster and more versatile Kenya side.
“I promised the Kenyan people that they are going to see a different version of the game they were used to seeing. This one is going to be much faster, more versatile and they are going to be entertained,” he said.
Chirenda acknowledged that Nigeria could pose a significant challenge, particularly after preparing in England and Jamaica and playing international matches against highly ranked opposition in Europe.
He noted that Kenya had done some homework on their opponents, although limited footage was available because Nigeria will be playing its first official match of the tournament.
“They have a lot of international players as well, so for us that is going to be a tough and uphill task. But I think we are up to the task,” he admitted.
The coach also dismissed concerns over Kenya’s limited exposure to the indoor competition court during preparations, saying training in varying weather conditions had helped the players adapt to adversity.
He remains confident the La Divas can begin their campaign with victory.
Be the First to Comment