Updates on the Women’s Team

Preparations for the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers in January are well underway so below we will provide some updates on the tournament, the team, and the management.

Firstly, it has been confirmed that the tournament will take place from January 31st to Feburary 5th in Chonburi, Thailand. over the six days we are expecting the team to play a total of six games against teams from across Asia-Oceania. Singapore will not take part because they are hosting the World Cup finals at the end of next year and thus automatically qualify. We had thought that this would leave three qualification spots in Asia-Oceania out of the normal four, however we have since been informed that there will only be two qualifications spots, so we expect some feirce competition.

Now to the team. Due to a variety of unique and unforseen circumstances five players have been forced to withdraw from the original team. Additionally, the publishing of the tournament schedule has forced coaches Jon and Jordan to reconsider the original eighteen player selection which was aimed to maximise player participation.

Because of these changes we are pleased to announce the selection of the following seven players to replenish the squad and bring the numbers up to a total of twenty.

• Malikah Davy 

• Stevie Greeks

• Nicolette Jones

• Grace Murdoch

• Catherine Rogers

• Emma Selley

• Fiona Skene

Thanks to great participation in our initial trials we were lucky to have a combination of experienced and skill waiting in the wings to step up to the challenge with a month and a half to go. Congratulations to all of those selected, next stop Thailand!

Finally, the team management has been solidified and is working hard to bring everything together around the team. We are lucky to have two experienced managers onboard; Catherine Lee who managed the U19 Women’s team that performed so wel in Katowice, and Anna Kibblewhite, our national teams’ manager, who has countless campaigns and tournaments of experience. The two will share the responsibility of manager and are working great together.

There is still a lot of work ahead for the players, coaches, and management, but we can’t wait to see the team on the world stage!