The tragic Gibraltar gamble that backfired
The crisis began earlier this year when the Ministry of Sports advertised vacancies for coaches and assistant coaches for both the Junior Asian Netball Championship and the Junior World Cup. Dozens of qualified candidates attended interviews, with selections made by an official panel.
Where will these broken hearts go to, after officials disappointed the committed players shunning them from representing the country at a world event - File pic
However, the coaches who appointed were later told in writing that their positions only applied for the Asian Championship in South Korea. Their promotion to the World Cup would depend on “good performance” at the Asian event. Crucially, this requirement was never communicated during the selection process.
Despite the confusion, Sri Lanka’s Under-21 team fought bravely at the Junior Asian Championship in June, winning a bronze medal. The players returned to Colombo on July 4 with pride, only to wait idly for more than a month until trials for the World Cup squad were finally held in mid-August.
The selection trials themselves were mired in controversy. Instead of the full five-member national selection committee, only two selectors were present at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. From there, just 12 players were picked directly, cutting short the usual process of picking a larger pool and gradually reducing it.
Worse still, the pool was drawn almost entirely from school players who had recently toured Australia under the Schools Association banner. Most were only 16 or 17 year-olds. Netball experts argued that the Under-21 category required a broader mix of age and experience, but those concerns were ignored.
Once the 12-player squad was hurriedly finalised on September 4, training had begun. But another disaster followed – the Ministry applied for visas far too late. By the time the applications were lodged, deadlines had passed and arrangements were impossible to complete.
For the first time in the country’s sporting history, Sri Lanka was forced to withdraw from an international netball tournament, not just any tournament, but the prestigious World Youth Cup scheduled from September 19 to 28 in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory.
“This is a black day for our sport,” said one senior netball official, declining to be named.
“The Ministry’s negligence has ruined the dreams of young players who worked for years. They will never get this chance again.”
The fiasco is partly rooted in the absence of a functioning national body. The Sri Lanka Netball Federation was suspended in May 2024, leaving the Ministry of Sports in full control of the game’s administration. With no independent checks and balances, decisions were rushed, flawed, and left unchallenged.
Experts argue that if a federation had been in place, proper planning would have prevented such chaos. “Federations know the technical needs of the sport. Ministries are meant to support, not to micromanage,” one former official said.
For the Under-21 players, the heartbreak is immeasurable. The World Youth Cup is held only once every four years. By the next edition, most players from the current squad will be ineligible due to the age factor. For many, this was their only shot opportunity of representing their country on the global stage.
“This failure has shattered their mentality,” a devastated netball parent said.
“These girls worked day and night, only to be denied because of late paperwork. It is unforgivable.”
The fallout may extend to Sri Lanka’s senior team, which has been crowned Asian champions six times since 1985, including four consecutive titles in recent years. The next Asian Netball Championship is scheduled for August 2026 in Hong Kong.
Other nations have already begun training and squad selection, while Sri Lanka has not taken a single step on preparations. Experts warn the senior side could soon face the same administrative meltdown that destroyed the junior campaign.
For World Netball, the episode comes as a wake-up call. Sri Lanka has long been one of Asia’s strongest netball nations, producing champions and inspiring thousands of young girls. That reputation now lies in question after bureaucratic mismanagement denied the juniors their rightful place on the world stage.
“This is more than just a mistake,” said another official.
“It is an injustice to the athletes and above all, a national embarrassment. The international body must take note before Sri Lanka’s netball collapses further.”
Sri Lanka were drawn in Pool ‘A’ alongside New Zealand, Malaysia, Cook Islands and hosts Gibraltar. The Pool ‘B’ consist Australia, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore and Northern Ireland while Zambia too was an absentee in Pool ‘C’ that includes England, Jamaica, Tonga and Wales. Fiji, South Africa, Malawi, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago form Pool ‘D’.
As a result of their no show, Sri Lanka’s scheduled games on September 20 against England, against Wales on September 21, against Jamaica on September 22 and against Tonga on September 24 were officially cut off from the match schedule as ‘forfeited’ according to the official website of Netball World Youth Cup 2025.
“Due to unresolved matters surrounding, the participation of Sri Lanka and Zambia in the Netball World Youth Cup 2025, World Netball (WN) has withdrawn both teams for the remainder of the competition. The remaining scheduled stage one pool games of the competition, where Sri Lanka and Zambia were due to play, will be treated as forfeited fixtures and their opposition will be awarded with two points for the win in line with competition regulations,” the website announced.
“World Netball recognises the disappointment this outcome will bring to teams and fans and remains committed to supporting Sri Lanka and Zambia’s ongoing involvement in international netball. World Netball will not make any further comment at this stage,” the announcement further added.
The scandal has sparked outrage across the local netball community. Coaches, players, parents, and fans are demanding urgent reforms, including the reinstatement of an independent federation and transparent selection processes. If those steps are not taken, Sri Lanka risks falling behind at both junior and senior levels. The junior debacle is not just a story of one missed tournament—it is a warning sign of a sport in danger.
For the young women who trained for years and dreamed of wearing their national colours at the World Youth Cup, the damage has been already done. Their missed chance can never be retrieved. But for the sake of future generations, netball experts insist the mistakes must be acknowledged and promptly addressed but never repeated.