Views: 13
Uganda slips to seventh in latest World Netball rankings
Uganda’s netball ranking has dropped one place in the latest World Netball Rankings, falling from sixth to seventh. This decline follows an underwhelming performance at the 2025 Vitality Netball Series in the UK last month, where the She Cranes lost all their group matches against England, South Africa, and Malawi before securing a consolation win over Malawi to finish third.
Additionally, Uganda finished second at the 2024 Netball Africa Cup in Namibia after losing to South Africa’s SPAR Proteas in the final.
The latest World Netball Rankings, released today, March 5, 2025, reflect an annual update to ensure the rankings capture the most current international team performances.
Wales Netball has moved into the top six for the first time following an undefeated 2024-2025 campaign, having played 31 matches, accumulating 2.353 points, and earning a rating of 124. Uganda, now in seventh place, has played 40 matches, garnering 3.040 points and a rating of 122, while Malawi sits in eighth place with 43 matches, 3.365 points, and a rating of 120.
The update removes matches played in the rating period from July 1, 2020, to February 28, 2022, and halves the weighting of matches played between March 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024.
Notably, the rating period between July 1, 2020, and February 28, 2022, was extended beyond the usual 12 months due to the limited number of international matches played during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matches played after February 29, 2024, are still weighted at 100%.
There are no changes in the top five rankings, but New Zealand has narrowed the gap between themselves and first-place Australia from 12 to nine points.
Jamaica has further solidified its third-place position, with England now trailing seven points behind the Sunshine Girls in fourth place. Other notable changes include Zambia climbing two places to 15th and Botswana moving up four places to 20th due to the removal of poorer results from 2020-2022.
Further down the rankings, Kenya, the Philippines, and St. Kitts and Nevis each improved by three places to 25th, 32nd, and 37th, respectively. The biggest drop came from Antigua and Barbuda, which fell six places to 44th following the removal of their stronger results before March 2022.
St. Eustatius has entered the World Netball Rankings at 49th after meeting the minimum requirement of eight matches played since March 1, 2022. Meanwhile, Tanzania has dropped off the rankings due to not meeting the minimum match requirement since March 1, 2022. They must play at least one more match within the next 12 months to regain their ranking.
Netball stakeholders took to social media to express their concerns over Uganda’s
drop in rankings. Some notable reactions include, “I knew it, but I didn’t expect Wales to take the 6th position. Tewakyaali baba! Gone is Uganda’s position.”, “I had zero expectations, just hoped not to see Uganda in 12th place under my watch.”, “Changing national team coaches like skirts is another problem. because the coach so and so did not support the existing netball body, which demoralized the players.”, “Failing to summon players on merit hit Uganda hard. A player talks about unpaid allowances, and you drop her—God forbid!” and “If Uganda is to perform better and restore the glory Sarah Kityo built for the country, the new executive must welcome positive criticism. If they keep ignoring voices and pushing people out of netball, Uganda will continue to drop.”
The latest rankings highlight the challenges facing Uganda’s netball team. Addressing internal management issues and ensuring fair selection criteria may be key to reclaiming a higher position in the global rankings.
Source:Wallnet News