The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships will kick-off on Friday morning at the Bahrain Rugby Club with a full day of top-level matches between the Gulf's best players.
The two-day tournament features 20 teams from around the Gulf who will play over 125 matches over the course of the event. Defending champions 'Dubai A ' will start the competition with a tough match against an invitational England team, Hucclecote Netball at 9.30am.
Matches will continue all day to decide final pool rankings before the finals start on Saturday morning.
The Bahrain Netball League have entered five teams into the main competition and have been training all week with England coaches Gilly Salter and Liz Banyard who have travelled out from the UK to assist the teams with their final preparations.
Bahrain A came fifth last year out of 19 teams but hope to improve greatly on that performance next weekend.
The Rugby Club will be a hive of activity over the weekend. The Caledonian Society will be holding its Highland Games on Friday, which promises to provide great entertainment for the local community.
Bahrain Netball League event manager, Michaela Milne said: "This will be the biggest Inter-Gulf tournament in the 22-year history of the event.
"We have over 300 players, umpires and coaches arriving from around the Gulf and England. As organisers, we want to put on the best possible show for both our players and for the local community.
"We hope to get fantastic crowd support for our teams. We are thrilled to be hosting the event in Bahrain and we look forward to waving the flag for netball in the Gulf with pride."
The Riffa Views Inter-Gulf Netball Championships will take place on Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm and on Saturday from 9.30am to 2.30pm.
For more information, contact Michaela Milne on 36600308 or visit the website www.netballbahrain.com
