Sunshine Girls coach laments limited opportunities for competitive netball

Jamaica might sit among world netball’s elite, but Head Coach Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright says her Sunshine Girls are being left behind by limited on-court opportunities. Speaking during the launch of next month’s four-match Horizon Series against England Roses at S Hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday, Henry-Wright highlighted the stark inequality facing her programme, where lower- ranked nations are playing more Tests than the world’s number three-ranked team. “We look forward to this competition [Horizon Series].

The only thing is that sometimes we don’t get the opportunity as other countries. we have [teams] who are way below us and they’re able to play consistently, play more than us,” Henry-Wright said. “When you look at the world ranking and you look at how many games we play compared to teams that are way below us, it says something.

It says something about our programme and that the girls are really working hard. “And we have established a good ground, and that we keep building. We are excited and we are happy that we can compete in this competition yearly.

We’re hoping that we can secure more and be able to travel more and compete against the best teams in the world,” she further explained. The Horizon Series, which is expected to be Jamaica’s final major assignment before next year’s Netball World Cup, will see the Sunshine Girls face the England Roses in England at the Copper Box Arena in London on November 21 and 22, before returning home for matches on December 5 and 6 at the National Indoor Sports Centre. It comes on the back of a historic silver medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but Henry-Wright insists there is still work to be done to close the gap on world champions Australia and New Zealand.

“We struggle sometimes, but one of our main focuses now is working on our attacking and defensive structures, increasing center pass conversion, improving on our transitional play, and developing consistency throughout our games,” she said. Despite the challenges of funding an elite programme, Henry-Wright thanked stakeholders for making the series possible. When I came in and I saw all of the [sponsorship] banners I felt really good.

We struggle and we appreciate our sponsors. We are glad that you believe in us, that you are investing in us and in our journey.