Barbados is in a three-month race to successfully stage the prestigious Americas Federation of Netball Associations’ World Cup Qualifier 2018, which has an attached price tag of $270 000.
That information was made public when the local organising committee, comprising a number of former presidents of the Barbados Netball Association (BNA) and experts in the administration of the sport, launched the event at Sandals, Maxwell, Christ Church, with Minister of Sports Stephen Lashley in attendance. Also present was president of the Barbados Olympic Association, Sandra Osborne.
With a quoted cost of $70 000 facing the local body for using the indoor facilities at the Wildey Gymnasium for the qualifier, Lashley indicated that following ongoing negotiations, the Ministry of Sports would look at how it could further assist the BNA.
The qualifier, to be staged in Barbados on August 24 to September 4, will see two teams advancing to the Netball World Cup in Liverpool in July 2019.
Barbados, which hosted a similar qualifier in 2006, will play host to Argentina, Bermuda, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, St Maarten, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
BNA president Nisha Craigwell said the qualifier would showcase netball at another level for the fans, players and administrators.
Barbados have qualified for every World Cup held to date.
Lashley praised the BNA on its strategic planning in bidding and winning the host opportunity, which he expected to bring tremendous spin-off value to the economy.
“Staging this qualifier will redound to the benefit of the Barbados economy as well as the executive members of the BNA and other local sports groups,” the minister said. (KB)
