Zimbabwean coach Tapiwa Chirenda has promised Kenyan fans an exciting and entertaining brand of netball as he seeks to guide the national team to a historic World Cup qualification at the Africa Netball Cup qualifiers in Nairobi.
Chirenda, who took charge of Team Kenya on a temporary basis two weeks ago, believes the country has enough talent to emerge as one of the continent’s netball powers within the next two years.
The experienced coach, who has worked with both Zimbabwe’s women’s and men’s national teams as well as several players and teams across Africa, says he was impressed by the progress Kenya has made in recent years.
“The Kenyan team is good, and it has been coming up in rankings all through the years,” Chirenda noted.
He praised the work done by previous coaches and expressed confidence that the current team can go far if it maintains its development trajectory.
“The other coaches have done a good job prior to my coming here. I see Kenya going far in the next two years; it can become the powers of Africa,” he added.
Chirenda has been contracted to remain with Kenya until the end of the championship, placing him in an unusual position as his native Zimbabwe will also compete in the Nairobi tournament.
However, he was clear about where his allegiance will lie should the two sides meet.
“Obviously, my loyalty will be with my new adopted country, Kenya,” he replied.
The coach has already outlined his philosophy to the Kenyan players, promising a style designed to entertain supporters while delivering results.
“To the Kenyan fans, what I can promise them is you'll see a different brand of netball,” he said.
Chirenda believes the team’s performances in training have shown enough promise to suggest that Kenya could produce an exciting campaign.
“If they reproduce what they have shown in training, we are going to see fireworks,” he added.
Kenya will face some of Africa’s strongest netball nations in the September 19-26 qualifiers, with the top two teams earning tickets to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
South Africa and Uganda have already secured their places at the global tournament.
The Nairobi event will feature 11 teams — Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Kenya has never qualified for the Netball World Cup, while Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe have previously appeared at the global showpiece.
For Chirenda, the immediate task is to turn Kenya’s recent progress into a breakthrough qualification while giving home fans a team they can enjoy watching.
