No team. No coach. No training facilities. No problem. When Salote Sisifa became CEO of Tonga Netball in 2014, she had a blank canvas. Twelve years and much upheaval later, the Pacific Islanders are ranked eighth in the world. For context, that's just behind Wales and ahead of Scotland Despite being a tiny nation of 105,000 people, Tonga launched its first Commonwealth Games netball campaign in Glasgow, facing the world‑premier Australia. The story is remarkable. It positions TV anchor Sisifa from reading the news to making the news, changing her country's sporting future.

The journey includes national crises: a 2022 volcanic eruption, a devastating tsunami, and Covid‑19 that hit Tonga almost two years after the rest of the world. Sisifa warned she would resign if she failed, yet she remains at the helm. She brought in head coach Jaqua Pori‑Makea‑Simpson in 2019, after only one of eight candidates replied. Together they recruited players, even convincing a star shooter, Uneeq Palavi, through her grandmother’s persuasion.

Challenges persisted—the pathway side trained in a bank’s car park, and the national body had to rebuild after the eruption that killed four people and destroyed infrastructure. Yet Tonga won gold at the Pacific Aus Sports series, finished eighth at the 2023 World Cup, and now debuts at the Commonwealth Games. Their spirit is described as an innate spirituality that unites players beyond camaraderie.

Tonga’s rise shows that with bold leadership, talent recruitment and cultural cohesion, a nation of islands can reach the top 10 in the world.