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MBABANE – The country has moved a place up on the netball charts.

The country is now ranked number 28th out of 43. It is their first improvement since breaking into the charts last year.

Eswatini netball had not been ranked until it competed in the World Netball (WN) World Cup held in South Africa over three months ago. The rankings were released by World Netball recently and countries were ranked through games played up to March 1, this year.

Before, the Kingdom of Eswatini did not qualify for ranking by virtue of failing to compete in international tournaments.

Despite its failure to qualify for the Netball World Cup, which would for the first time be held in Africa (South

Africa), Eswatini netball team is now ranked among the powerhouses in the region.

The best netball team in the world, according to the charts, is Australia. Fifth-placed South Africa, Africa’s best.

In order for a country to be ranked, they are expected to play a minimum of six international test matches over the rating period.

Rating

Information sourced from the World Netball website revealed that if a team has played fewer than the minimum matches, they would still have a rating, but without a corresponding ranking. To have a ranking, the team must have played at least two games against a rated team.

Since its inception in 2007, the World Rankings methodology has been reviewed regularly by the WN

Board to ensure it remains a robust and reliable ranking system that presents a true reflection of the quality and standing of the performances of international teams and that this system can be used with confidence for qualification purposes.

Rankings also apply when seeding teams, for international competitions as the highest ranked teams, have an advantage of a free pass to the semi-finals without playing in the eliminatory stage.

Meanwhile, the NWC 2023 will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from July 28 to August 6, this year, with Australia, Barbados, England, Fiji, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Wales and Zimbabwe all set to compete for the biggest prize in world netball.