17 Oct 2024

The Botswana Netball Association (BONA) will on Saturday officially commence the U-21 netball league. 

It will feature U-21 players from BONA affiliated clubs and centres of excellence. The the teams have been divided into four brackets and the games played at Orapa, Palapye, Jwaneng and Gaborone. 

A schedule of fixtures released by BONA has indicated that Bracket A games will be played at the Orapa courts and will feature Thunderbolt, Maun Heroes, Maun OSG, Boteti and Meepong. 

Bracket B teams will play at the Palapye courts and will involve Morupule, TAFIC, Uprising Stars, TASC and NICO United. 

As for Bracket C teams, they will play their games at the Jwaneng courts and will feature BDF Cats, Jwaneng, Police and Prisons. 

BONA courts in Gaborone will host bracket D teams, which include Centre of Sports Excellence (CSE), Notwane, Thamaga Jaspers, UB Crystals and Vipers. 

The association’s president, Onkemetse Mpudi recently revealed in an interview that a lion’s share of the P572 400 grant received from the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) will go towards development projects,  one such will be the youth league. 

Mpudi said the league would cover players in the U-21 category. He said BONA came up with mechanisms to ensure that the grant would benefit all and go a long way in developing young players. 

BONA has been engaged in training umpires, match officials, managers and referees who will be engaged in the league. Mpudi said the league was likely to encounter challenges as some players will be sitting for the final year examinations. Ends