Head coach of the Jamaica Under-21 netball team Annett Daley says her squad is on track for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, but admits the team faces significant challenges, chief among them, lack of financial support and a food sponsor.

This year’s tournament is scheduled to run September 19-28 and according to Daley, the junior Sunshine Girls are pushing through despite academic and logistical hurdles.

“We are on target for the September championships, but we do have challenges,” said Daley.

“Most of these young ladies are either in universities or in high school and are currently preparing for exams, so that is a challenge. We have to ensure that we keep that in the forefront of our minds while making plans,” she noted.

Daley highlighted among the most pressing issues is the need for proper nutrition for the team’s 18-member squad.

“We need a food sponsor because you know, to feed 18 girls on a daily basis, that will be a tidy sum,” Daley stated. “If we can get a food sponsor on-board to provide them with the necessary nutrition, I know we can get it done.”

The veteran coach also pointed out that another obstacle for the team has been limited training time due to budget constraints.

“Currently, we are only training on weekends, so that is our main challenge not having enough time for training. We have been embracing these challenges, but apart from that, we recently completed our trials and, therefore, we are now down to 18 ladies.”

The team last competed in an international series in January, where they were swept 3-0 by South Africa on home soil. Daley underscored that despite the losses, the series was a key developmental milestone for the young Jamaicans.

“Based on the team that we have, the South Africa series was early in our preparations. If I was looking at the South Africa series on a scale of one to 10, we were probably at a one,”she said.

“We have now moved to five. If they are at five now, it means that if we put the necessary things in place, we can get them to the championship with a good chance of getting on the podium.”

The Jamaican Under-21 team last tasted success at the World Youth Cup in 2013, when they captured bronze in Glasgow, Scotland. They finished fifth at the 2017 tournament in Botswana, and the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.