Reviewed by Peter KanjereMalawi sports betting writer
Published 6 September 2026
World Netball has rebuilt its World Cup for Sydney in 2027. Sixteen teams, four pools, a Cup competition and a Plate competition, and sixty four matches played on a single court.
Six of the sixteen places were settled before a qualifier was played. Australia took one as hosts. The other five went to the highest ranked nations on the World Netball rankings of 1 December 2025, which meant New Zealand, Jamaica, England, South Africa and Uganda. The remaining ten places are shared between World Netball’s five regions, two to each.
That is the reason the Malawi Queens have to qualify. They sat outside the five ranking places that carried an automatic invitation, so a regional place is the route open to them.
Four pools, then a Cup and a Plate
The draw puts the sixteen teams into four pools of four. Seeding runs off the world rankings of 1 December 2026, and the top eight seeds are spread rather than stacked: seeds one and five go into Pool A, two and six into Pool B, three and seven into Pool C, four and eight into Pool D. Seeds nine to sixteen are drawn at random to fill the pools out.
After the pool round the tournament splits in two. The top two in each pool go into the Cup competition and play for the title. The sides that finish third and fourth go into the Plate. World Netball introduced that split for this edition, and it means a team that starts badly still has something to win.
One venue, twelve days, sixty four matches
Every match is played at the same venue on the same court, which is a change from previous editions. The tournament runs from 25 August to 5 September 2027, twelve days in all, and the match count rises from sixty to sixty four. Each team plays eight matches and no team plays more than four in a row.
The closing phase settles every position from first to sixteenth through semi finals and placement matches, so a country’s final ranking is played for rather than worked out from the pool tables.
Where to bet: netball markets in Malawi open properly only around a major tournament, so expect match winner and winning margin rather than a deep menu. Premier Bet and Betway price Queens fixtures in kwacha with deposits by mobile money, and the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority is the body that licenses betting in the country. A format carrying both a Cup and a Plate creates two sets of outright markets rather than one, and the second is usually priced later and more loosely. Compare the two books before you stake. Our guide to the best betting sites in Malawi covers licensing and withdrawal times, and there is more in Malawi netball news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
