The Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023) draw took place on Wednesday 30 November 2022, at the East London Convention Centre, South Africa, confirming the four pools for the first stage of the tournament.
The prestigious event, broadcast live around the world, was attended by provincial and national government officials, the board of directors of NWC2023, representatives of World Netball, Netball South Africa, sponsors, partners and the general public.
World Netball President Liz Nicholl CBE said: “My congratulations to all the teams that vied for success in the five regional qualifiers.
“42 of our Member countries participated – involving over 500 athletes, more than 45 international umpires, over 200 coaches, managers and primary carers and thousands of administrators and wonderful volunteers who have all played their part in the road to next year’s world cup.
“It was a joy to see the matches broadcast widely around the world reaching new audiences and giving our amazing sport the visibility, it deserves…but now it’s Africa’s time to shine.”
Ahead of the draw, the 16 qualified teams, were seeded according to their World Netball World Ranking on 3 November 2022. The top 8 seeds were then placed into pools A to D. The two remaining teams in each of the four pools were drawn at random in two stages.
“It was a joy to see the matches broadcast widely around the world reaching new audiences and giving our amazing sport the visibility, it deserves”
The pools for the preliminary stages of the NWC2023 are confirmed as follows:
The Netball World Cup 2023 Pools – Pool A: Australia, Tonga, Zimbabwe and Fiji. Pool B: England, Malawi, Scotland and Barbados. Pool C: Jamaica, South Africa, Wales and Sri Lanka. Pool D: New Zealand, Uganda, Trinidad & Tobago and Singapore.
To view the full world rankings table, click here.
The first stage of the tournament will commence on 28 July 2023 with the teams competing in a round robin format in the pools as outlined above.
“We know and love Cape Town and it holds special memories for me having led the team to victory on what was my first Roses series back in Autumn 2019.”
Vitality Roses Head Coach, Jess Thirlby commented: “It’s always an exciting moment when you discover who you will be meeting in your opening matches at a World Cup as it brings everything into focus and the reality kicks in. It allows us to plan more purposefully and speak specifically to the Nations we will be battling it out against in Pool B.
“With home nation Scotland, the African Malawi Queens and the Caribbean style in Barbados we have a true test of playing diversity to prepare for. We know these teams will give us a great challenge physically and tactically, especially Scotland and Malawi who look more determined than ever to rise up the world rankings further and we underestimate no one on our World Cup journey.
“We played Malawi in Birmingham and they are known for their ball retention and have quality in their shooting circle as well as a dynamic defensive style. Scotland have been more exposed to international competition of late and will be stronger for that as they head to Cape Town. Barbados are full of flair and are fearless in how they play, are always accurate at goal with long-range specialists.
“We know and love Cape Town and it holds special memories for me having led the team to victory on what was my first Roses series back in Autumn 2019. We always feel welcome and we spent time in Stellenbosch last year at a training camp which was great. We know Cape Town and South Africa will put on an incredible event, celebrating the diversity of World Netball and we are really looking forward to the challenge.”
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