Auckland wins Samoa Netball 2023 Cup

By Gutu Faasau • 30 September 2023, 8:02PM

Auckland Samoa Netball Association (ASNA) is the overall winner of the Samoa Netball Cup 2023 tournament after victory in three of the four divisions.

The Chief Executive Officer of Samoa Netball Association, Rosemarie Lome said they are very happy that they successfully pulled off such an event given that it is their first ever international competition.

“I am just overwhelmed and humbled and so blessed to have such a great team behind me, working hard to make this a successful event,” she said. “It’s not about the numbers you have; it’s having the right skills and the right people all on the same page.

"We have been doing this for the last five months and I would like to thank all the presidents from all the different associations who have stayed in contact to learn about the progress and how they could help us.

“It was a really good effort by all, for Samoa I think we have helped our sports tourism, and we have proven that we are valuable contributors to Samoa’s economy.

"Looking at what we have done in the weekend, it’s not just the players that came. It was their aunties, their uncles and they were able to visit relatives here and reconnect with their roots."

She added that there have been so many positive outcomes from their successful event and hopes to make improvements where necessary for a much better one next year.

“There are a lot of positive outcomes and lessons learnt. We need to review after this. Looking at areas we can improve on,” she said.

“We will have a meeting after this and then decide on who or where it will be next year. I think for me it should be a tournament that should be held yearly and preferably in Samoa because this is where our national team originates from.”

Below are the winners and the finalists from the Samoa Netball Cup 2023 tournament: