Felistus Kwangwa
| Felistus Kwangwa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Felistus Kwangwa March 9, 1995 Njube, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Education | Mtshede Primary School |
| Alma mater | Sikhulile High School |
| Occupation | Netball Player |
| Employer | Surrey Storm |
| Known for | Being part of the Zimbabwe netball team at the 2019 Netball World Cup |
| Parents |
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Felisitus Kwangwa also spelled as Felistus Kwangwa (born 9 March 1995) is a Zimbabwean netball player and current captain of the Zimbabwe national team who plays in the position of goal defense.
Background
Felistus Kwangwa was born on 9 March 1995 in Njube, Bulawayo. Her primary school teacher forced her to play netball because she was good in athletics, soccer and volleyball so she thought she might be good as well in netball.
Education
Felistus went to Mtshede Primary School where she was forced to play netball by her teacher when she was doing Grade 5. She was doing well but she left the game when she proceeded to Sikhulile High School.
Career
She started playing netball when she was doing grade 5 at Mtshede Primary School in Bulawayo. In 2011 when she was part of the Bulawayo Province team that took part in the annual Zimbabwe National Youth Games in Gwanda. From 2011 to 2013 she played for Freestars at club level and later joined Khami Queens. When she got transferred to Harare in 2016, she started playing for Correctional Queens.
She started doing duty for the junior national sides in 2012 at the age of 17. She captained the Golden Girls at the 2014 Region 5 Games and also led the team at the 2018 Junior World Cup Qualifiers in Botswana.
She became part of the senior netball team in 2014 and a year later she was named the vice captain going on to shine at the 2017 Tri-Nations Tournament and at the 2019 Telkom Tournament in SA held in May where she was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) a feat that, with so much ease, she has achieved at the ongoing Vitality Netball World Cup.[1]
She was a Correctional Services Queens player who was on loan at Platinum Queens. ‘Zim One’ as she is affectionately known in the netball circles, was on a one-year contract with the Zvishavane based side but left before she could even play a single game for the team after games were suspended owing to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic (Coronavirus).[2]
She was a member of the Zimbabwean squad which finished at eighth position during the 2019 Netball World Cup, which was historically Zimbabwe's first ever appearance at a Netball World Cup tournament. She also served as the vice captain of the team during the 2019 Netball World Cup.
In September 2019, she was appointed as the captain of the national team after the retirement of former skipper Perpetua Siyachitema and captained the Zimbabwe Gems squad at the 2019 African Netball Championships. She became the sixth player to lead the senior team. Having to lead the young Gems for five years since 2012 to 2016 and named the first captain of Correctional Services Queens despite being the youngest in the team, at the age of 19 in 2014. She was also appointed vice-captain of the senior national team in 2014 as well.
On 11 November 2020 it was reported that Felistus had signed a 1 year contract with Surrey Storm and became the first Zimbabwean to play in the Vitality Netball League in the United Kingdom.[3]
Awards
- Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 2019 Telkom Tournament in SA
- Surrey Storm Fans Player of the Season (2022)
- Coach's Players of the Season Award (2022)[4]
References
- ↑ Fungai Muderere, [1], B-Metro, Published: 19 July, 2019, Accessed: 11 November, 2020
- ↑ [2], H-Metro, Published: 10 November, 2020, Accessed: 11 November, 2020
- ↑ [3], Twitter, Published: 11 November, 2020, Accessed: 11 November, 2020
- ↑ [4], The Herald, Published: 20 June, 2022, Accessed: 21 June, 2022
