The SPAR Baby Proteas will jet off to London on Tuesday evening (9 September) for a series of warm-up matches before heading to the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.
Three matches are lined up – against Netball Super League champions London Pulse, England A, and a mixed club side – providing valuable preparation for the global showpiece.
The Netball World Youth Cup, which will be held from Friday 19 to Thursday 28 September, will be the first since 2017 after the 2021 tournament was cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2017 tournament in Gaborone, saw South Africa finishing sixth.
This time, after an eight-year wait, the SPAR Baby Proteas (under-21s) have set their sights much higher.
“We’re definitely aiming for better than the previous World Cup. We’re planning on going there and giving our best… we’re aiming for the podium. That’s the goal that we’re looking for,” said SPAR Baby Proteas captain Phophi Nematangari.
The team’s preparations have included playing in the 2024 SPAR National Championships as well as this year’s Telkom Netball League. They’ve also trained with the senior SPAR Proteas and, in January, completed a 3-0 series clean sweep against the Jamaican under-21 team in Kingston.
“We are very, very excited that it’s actually happening. It’s been a long journey waiting for this moment,” added Nematangari. “Now that it’s happening, I still can’t wrap my head around it, but the preparations have been exceptional. We’ve been putting in the work, the seeds have been planted, now we’re just waiting to reap.”
SUPPORT FROM HOME
Mami Diale, acting president of Netball South Africa, also expressed her excitement ahead of the team’s departure.
“Obviously there is expectation… it would be good if we could [end] top four at least, and it will be better if we can have a podium, but we are not putting [on] pressure, we are encouraging them and we are supporting them towards that, because we have to do it together,” she said.
Guiding the team on their journey is the formidable coaching combination of two former Proteas in Precious Mthembu and Phumza Maweni.
“From our side, as former players, it’s our role to make the players understand the magnitude and the skill, and how great this challenge is for them,” explained head coach Mthembu, adding that the team have all responded incredibly well in stepping up to the task.
“We’re definitely ready. It’s our time now… we want to do well in our pool and I’m sure all the work that we’ve done will be rewarded in the end.”
UPCOMING FIXTURES
SA has been drawn in Pool D along with Fiji, Malawi, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. They will play their first match against Barbados on Saturday 20 September before taking on Trinidad and Tobago on Monday 22 September, Malawi on Tuesday 23 September and Fiji on Wednesday 24 September, before the play-off rounds begin a day later.
The top two teams in each pool will progress to the quarterfinals.
World Netball have confirmed that fans around the globe will be able to watch every match of the tournament live and free-of-charge on NetballPass and the Netball World Cup YouTube channel.
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