The Malawi National Netball Team, the Queens, have missed out on automatic 2027 Netball World Cup qualification, having failed to make the top six of the latest World Netball Rankings.
This means the Queens will have to compete in the continental qualification tournament in which the top two teams will make the grade from each continent.
World Netball (WN) updated the world rankings on Thursday which factors in results up to December 1 2025, with the top six invited to compete at the Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 and having maintained the eighth position, the Queens will have to fight for their slot.
The hosts and top-ranked Australia, have qualified alongside New Zealand, who are second, third-placed Jamaica, England who are fourth, fifth-ranked South Africa and Uganda, who are sixth.
Reacting to the development, Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Yamikani Kauma said this means the Queens need to prepare thoroughly for the qualifiers next year.
She said: “Of course, on paper, we are the favourites to get one of the two slots, but it won’t be easy, we have a lot of work to do.
“We need to intensify our preparations starting with the upcoming Africa Netball Cup and then we also have the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“These events can also help us to improve on our rankings, but all this will depend on the availability of funding, especially from government as we have to keep the team busy.”
Kauma said the other teams cannot be taken for granted as they have stepped up their rebuilding drives by competing against established teams, citing Zimbabwe and Namibia.
In the rankings, Uganda moved back to sixth, pushing Wales down to seventh, after going unbeaten throughout the Celtic Cup and defeating the Welsh Feathers 70 – 48 on the final day of the competition.
A statement from World Netball says five regional qualifiers will take place in 2026, to determine the remaining 10 teams, with the top two from each qualifier making it to the global showpiece which is set to take place from the August 25 to September 5 2027.
Speaking on the news WN president Dame Liz Nicholl DBE said: “Congratulations to the first six teams that have qualified to be invited to the Netball World Cup Sydney 2027.”
