Sri Lanka in action in the previous Asian Netball Championship 

By Susil Premalal

The Department of Sports Development of the Ministry of Sports has decided to set up a 60-member national youth netball pool targeting two key international championships in 2025.

The Asian Youth Netball Championships, conducted by Netball Asia and the South Korea Netball Association, will be held from June 14-21 in South Korea.

In addition, the World Youth Netball Championships conducted by World Netball will be held from September 19-28 in Gibraltar. 

16 teams are set to participate in the Asian Youth Netball Championships in South Korea, while Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore have qualified from Asia to compete in the World Youth Netball Championship. 

South Africa, Malawi, and Zambia from Africa, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago from the Americas, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland from Europe, and Samoa, Tonga, and the Cook Islands from Oceania, have also qualified for the World Youth Netball Championship.

Due to a pending legal issue, the netball administration in the country is currently handled by Professor Shemal Fernando, Chairman, Department of Sports Development of the Ministry of Sports. 

“We have already selected 24 players for the national youth netball pool from the National School Games and the All-Island Netball Championship, and we will increase the pool to 60 shortly in preparation for the two big events in 2025,” Fernando told the Daily Mirror yesterday. 

The coaches for these two international events will be appointed on a contract volunteer basis.