A year made for Luya

Veronica Gwaze

Zimpapers Sports Hub

BARELY two seasons after her arrival in the Rainbow Netball League, Anifa Luya has scripted a colourful story.

Flying high in the Pickglow-sponsored league with her dazzling performances, Luya is a sure bet for the 2024 “RANL Player of the Year.”

With 13 Player of the Match recognitions to her name in the season, the 21-year-old Flow Angels star is the front-runner to win the ultimate individual reward.

Ordinarily, since the first edition of RANL awards in 2018, the player with the highest number of Player of the Match recognitions claims the ultimate prize.

If she secures the prize, Luya will make history by becoming the first player to win the prestigious accolade in only her second season in the elite league.

Her close competitor is Glow Petroleum Queens’ Prudence Sibanda, who boasts of 12 recognitions to her name, while Ammackela Phiri of Golden Valley sits in third position with 10. Luya, who consistently threw powerful strokes throughout the season, is still short of words about her fine season.

She is set to be crowned at a glitzy ceremony to be hosted by the league’s principal sponsor in Harare this month.

“I never dreamt of such a moment in my life, especially considering that I only used to play netball as a pastime,” recalls Luya.

“Street netball helped me endure an abusive early marriage, so to imagine playing it at the highest level one day would have been taboo, but it looks like God had other plans.”

Interestingly, this is also the year she made a crack on to the senior national team, marking a stylish debut at the Celtic Cup in Cardiff, Scotland, in November.

She went on to play an instrumental role at the African Championships in Namibia in December, where the Gems ended the year with a bronze to show for their efforts at the tourney.

What makes her story peculiar is how she was converted from a defender to a winger and later a centre in the national team, barely three months after her Gems debut.

Much to fans’ surprise, Luya, a relative greenhorn, handled all the positions with ease, becoming the go-to player for any of those positions that presented problems.

With her influence as a Centre, in 2024, the Gems enjoyed arguably one of their best years.

Despite finishing as bronze medallists at the African Championships, the Gems took great pride in beating regional powerhouses Uganda and Malawi for the first time at the tournament.

Luya played in all the Gems games at the Championships. She combined with the youthful quintet of Elizabeth Mushore, Nicole Muzanenhamo, Thandekile Mahlangu, Upenyu Muyambo, and Thandazile Ndlovu to hold the fort as the Gems made their mark.

“I did not play international netball at junior level, so the Scotland tour was basically my first real test,” she said.

“I had to learn quickly and fit in; it was not easy, but the senior players and coaches helped me a lot.

“So, when we went for the championships, I had a rough idea of what to expect, and I am happy it worked out.”

Luya had briefly played netball during her school days at Mbare High School, and even then, her gifts and passion radiated.

The school authorities thought she would join the long list of talent that has come from the institution to make an impact on national teams.

But at the age of 16, she had to drop out of school, abandon her netball journey, and focus on her marriage and daughter.

However, the marriage would not last, as she allegedly became subjected to all forms of abuse at the hands of her older husband and in-laws.

This forced her to take up street netball to unwind. It is here that she was spotted by Nomatter Changata, who captained Super League side Netball Harare City at the time.

Changata introduced her to a then Division One side, Stormers Netball Queens.

In no time Luya rose to be one of the most trusted players who helped the Budiriro-based side earn promotion into the Premier Netball League in 2023.

The following year, she found a home at Rainbow Netball League side, Flow Angels.