Uganda headed for number one spot in Africa after Netball World Cup

The She Cranes are number one in Africa|UNF Image

NETBALL Uganda headed for number one spot in Africa after Netball World Cup

Allan Damba • 14:40 - 09.08.2023

Uganda managed a fifth-place finish at the recently concluded 2023 Netball World Cup after beating South Africa 49-47 on the latter's soil on Sunday.

Fifth ensured that the She Cranes became the best African netball nation in the 2023 World Cup, with South Africa and Malawi following closely in sixth and seventh, respectively.

This feat also meant that Uganda would rank number one on the continent in the forthcoming world rankings.

It will also mean an automatic leap in the overall rankings and could move all the way to fifth globally.

Headed into the first World Cup on African soil, Uganda ranked third on the continent, behind South Africa and Malawi, who occupied first and second, respectively.

She Cranes Falidah Kadondi (GD) keeps the ball away from a Proteas' prayer, Kadondi was starting her first World Cup match

Uganda currently is eighth in the world with 3,941 points and a rating of 119, behind Tonga (seventh), Malawi (sixth), South Africa (fifth), Jamaica (fourth), England (third), New Zealand (second) and first-placed Australia.

The current Netball rankings

How points are calculated

The number of points a team obtains depends on the results and the opponent against whom the effect was achieved.

The higher the opponent's rating, the more points earned for beating them, with a win carrying a weight of 50 points.

At the World Cup, Uganda beat 28th Singapore, 11th-placed Trinidad and Tobago, Malawi (sixth) and fifth-ranked side South Africa.