Kenya Netball Federation has lodged a formal complaint over the circumstances surrounding the African qualification pathway for the 2027 Netball World Cup, saying changes to the competition programme left the Divas disappointed and confused.
The dispute cast a shadow over Kenya’s final days at the Africa Netball Cup in Nairobi, even as the hosts prepared to face Zimbabwe in the fifth-place play-off.
Kenya Netball Federation president Immaculate Kabutha explained that Kenya had expected to contest a semi-final connected to the World Cup qualification process before the fixture programme changed.
“The most unfortunate thing that happened yesterday, we were supposed to have played the semis for the World Cup qualifier, because we had actually qualified,” noted Kabutha.
She added, "But now there was a big jump, about five fixtures were removed and there was a lot of confusion. So we found ourselves now playing for these sort of playoffs.”
World Netball’s published information for the Nairobi tournament stated that South Africa and Uganda had already qualified for Sydney 2027 through their world ranking, with the top two eligible teams in the African competition due to receive invitations to the World Cup.
The official competition schedule subsequently listed South Africa against Malawi and Uganda against Namibia as the semi-finals, while Kenya and Zimbabwe were assigned to the fifth-place play-off.
Kabutha said the Kenyan federation had formally complained and was waiting for the matter to be addressed.
“It was very, very disappointing to Team Kenya. Not even Team Kenya alone, but also Team Zimbabwe,” she said.
“We have already done a formal complaint and we are waiting for the world to fix it. We are ready to play again if the fixture is done properly.”
The controversy followed Kenya’s third-place finish in Pool Two behind Uganda and Malawi.
World Netball’s published schedule shows Kenya opened its campaign with a 61-40 win over Nigeria, lost 55-47 to Malawi and 62-42 to Uganda before recovering to beat Zambia 54-50.
The changes to the qualification pathway became a major talking point among participating federations, with reports of concerns from teams affected by the fixture arrangements.
Despite the uncertainty, Kabutha said Kenya remained ready to compete if a revised qualification opportunity was created.
Her position was that future international competitions should have clear regulations and fixtures that remain consistent throughout the tournament.
“Let the deserving team win,” she said.
The federation’s complaint came as the Divas sought to end their campaign positively on court.
They did exactly that, beating Zimbabwe 63-57 after extra time in a thrilling fifth-place play-off.
Kenya trailed 16-10 after the first quarter and 25-22 at half-time before Zimbabwe went into the final quarter with a 38-34 advantage.
The hosts rallied to force a 49-49 draw at the end of regulation time, with goal shooter Lydia Atieno Nyapere scoring the late goal that sent the match into extra time.
Kenya then dominated the additional period to complete a memorable victory over a Zimbabwe side ranked 11th in the world.
For Kabutha, the win could not remove the frustration surrounding the qualification issue, but it provided evidence of Kenya’s ability to challenge higher-ranked teams.
“We are already up in the ranking. We have beaten countries which are higher than us, like Zambia, like Zimbabwe,” she said.
The federation now awaits further developments on its complaint while preparing for future international competitions.
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