Samoa to take part in Sydney netball.

The head of Netball Fiji says an upcoming tournament in Sydney this month will provide much-needed international competition for Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Papua New Guinea.

Vivian Koster said there had been no competition at all since the start of the pandemic and teams were desperate for international action ahead of the Oceania World Cup qualifiers and next year’s Netball World Cup.

“Having an international championship is exciting for us … our team gets to play and we get to bloody new players,”

Ms Koster said Fiji ranks 15 in the world and a good performance in next month’s tournament could help to improve the team's standing.

The Sydney tournament is supported by PacificAus program, an initiative aimed at improving sports collaboration and partnerships with Pacific countries.

The program’s manager in Netball Australia, Rowan Fajerman, said COVID-19 had thrown challenges their way but the tournament was on track to start on March 21.

“There are still challenges for those in Samoa and Tonga, we’re glad they're able to get their squads together and come to the competition,” he said.

He said the tournament would provide teams a chance to play together ahead of the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers in Fiji in July.