South Africa secured a place in the men’s final of the 2026 Africa Netball Cup after defeating Malawi 50-40 at Kasarani Indoor Arena on Tuesday, maintaining their unbeaten run at the tournament.
Holders South Africa have won all four of their matches against Eswatini, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi to book their place in the final.
South Africa assistant coach Siyabonga Khuzwayo said the team was satisfied with its campaign but would use the remaining time to correct mistakes ahead of the final.
“So far so good for us. I am happy we have won all our games. We just need to correct errors and we are ready to go in the finals,” explained Khuzwayo.
He added that the team would study its potential opponents, noting that the competition had become increasingly challenging.
Malawi captain Arnold Khobiri praised South Africa, but added that mistakes had cost his side the match.
“It was a nice game actually and also a tough one. We know South Africa are the defending champions and they played well as the champions,” noted Khobiri.
Malawi will tackle Uganda next as they seek to build on what Khobiri described as significant progress by a young side playing only its second international tournament.
Attention now shifts to Kenya Net Kings, who face Eswatini on Wednesday in a decisive men's encounter.
Kenya have won one and lost two matches, the same record as Uganda, while Eswatini have one loss and two wins. With South Africa already through, a Kenyan victory would leave qualification for the final to be decided by goal difference.
Eswatini strengthened their hopes by beating Uganda 41-38 in a closely fought contest. They led 21-18 at half-time and 30-27 going into the final quarter before holding off Uganda's late challenge.
Eswatini head coach Vilane Jabulani observed video analysis and tactical adjustments were crucial to the victory. He also acknowledged that the clash with Kenya would be difficult.
“We had done a video analysis of the Ugandan players and I made sure I need to understand every player's strength and try to figure out how I would neutralize them on court,” explained Jabulani.
Uganda assistant coach Abalo Florence said her team had opportunities to win, but failed to capitalise on them.
“There was a time when we could intercept their passes, but could not punish them. On the other side, several of our center passes were also short,” she said.
The men's competition features Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Eswatini and defending champions South Africa.
In the women's tournament, Zambia kept their semi-final and World Cup qualification hopes alive with a 63-44 victory over Nigeria. They now face Kenya Divas on Wednesday in a crucial Pool Two encounter.
Zambia head coach Lazarus Tembo described the victory as an important build-up to the Kenya match, while captain Beauty Nakazwe observed that the team was ready to handle the pressure of playing the hosts.
South Africa and Uganda have already qualified for the 2027 Women's Netball World Cup in Sydney through their World Netball rankings. Two more teams from the remaining eight nations at the Africa Netball Cup will qualify for the global tournament.
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