She Cranes Head Coach, Fred Mugerwa, expresses confidence in the team’s readiness for the upcoming Vitality Netball Nations Cup and Wales Test Series. The tournaments serve as a consolation for the team after missing out on the African Netball Championship.
Preparations for the invitation tournaments, featuring strong teams like Australia, New Zealand, England, and Uganda, have been underway for the past two weeks at the Kamwokya TLC facility. Assistant Coach Nurudine Kato has been guiding the team through rigorous training sessions.
In a strategic move, Mugerwa intensified preparations by relocating the team to the MTN Indoor Arena in late December. This decision aims to familiarize the players with indoor playing conditions, similar to those they will encounter in the main tournament at Wembley, London, and First Direct Arena in Leeds on January 20-21 and January 27-28, respectively.
Mugerwa emphasized the importance of practicing on smooth indoor surfaces, stating, “We want to get used to playing indoors because where we are going, we are going to be playing indoors.”
The coach expressed satisfaction with the players’ adaptation and highlighted excellent coordination among the summoned players during the training period. The team eagerly anticipates the travel day to the tournament venues.
The Wales Test Series holds particular significance for the She Cranes, offering them a chance to showcase their prowess after being withdrawn from the Africa Netball Championship due to organizational challenges amid managerial unrest.
The decision to withdraw from the championship was made by the Netball Normalization Committee during a crisis that led to the National Council of Sports revoking the certificate of recognition for the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF), responsible for overseeing the national netball team.
The management turmoil stemmed from a clash between Uganda Netball Federation President Sarah Babirye Kityo and National Council of Sports General Secretary Patrick Ogwel. Kityo accused Ogwel of compelling the Federation to account for funds that were never provided, while Ogwel accused Kityo of misappropriating government funds.
