The SPAR Baby Proteas are gearing up to face the world\u2019s top under-21 sides, departing on Tuesday night for London, where they\u2019ll play a series of warm-up matches before heading to the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
Three matches are lined up \u2013 against Netball Super League champions London Pulse, England A, and a mixed club side \u2013 providing valuable preparation for the global showpiece.<\/p>\n
The Netball World Youth Cup, taking place from 19-28 September, will be the first since 2017 after the 2021 tournament was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic. That 2017 tournament, staged in Gaborone, saw South Africa finishing sixth. This time, after an eight-year wait, the SPAR Baby Proteas have set their sights much higher.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely aiming for better than the previous World Cup. We\u2019re planning on going there and giving our best\u2026 we\u2019re aiming for the podium. That\u2019s the goal that we\u2019re looking for,\u201d said SPAR Baby Proteas captain Phophi Nematangari.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s preparations have included playing in the 2024 SPAR National Championships as well as this year\u2019s Telkom Netball League. They\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very, very excited that it\u2019s actually happening. It\u2019s been a long journey waiting for this moment,\u201d added Nematangari. \u201cNow that it\u2019s happening, I still can\u2019t wrap my head around it, but the preparations have been exceptional. We\u2019ve been putting in the work, the seeds have been planted, now we\u2019re just waiting to reap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting president of Netball South Africa, Mami Diale, also expressed her excitement ahead of the team\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously there is expectation\u2026 it would be good if we could be top four at least, and it will be better if we can have a podium, but we are not putting pressure, we are encouraging them and we are supporting them towards that because we have to do it together,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Guiding the team on their journey is the formidable coaching combination of two former Proteas in Precious Mthembu and Phumza Maweni.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think from our side, as former players \u2013 Phumza and myself \u2013 it\u2019s our role to make the players understand the magnitude and the skill and how great this challenge is for them,\u201d explained head coach Mthembu, adding that the team have all responded incredibly well in stepping up to the task.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re definitely ready. It\u2019s our time now\u2026 we want to do well in our pool and I\u2019m sure all the work that we\u2019ve done will be rewarded in the end,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The South Africans have been drawn in Pool D along with Fiji, Malawi, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. They will play their first match against Barbados on 20 September before taking on Trinidad and Tobago on 22 September, Malawi on 23 September and Fiji on 24 September, before the playoff rounds begin a day later. The top two teams in each pool will progress to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Backing the team all the way are sponsors SPAR, whose PR, Communications & Sponsorships Manager, Mpudi Maubane explained: \u201cWe do this because we love what we\u2019re doing, we love to see women progressing and actually elevating and taking their talent somewhere else, especially to showcase it to the world \u2013 to say, with South Africa, it is possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the SPAR Group, we are saying \u2013 young girls, go out there, from wherever you come from in our communities, it is possible when you believe in a particular dream, to see it coming to life in an international space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to the players, Maubane added: \u201cYou are going out there to have fun, to represent the country at large, but you must know that back at home, a young girl somewhere who is passionate about the sport of netball is looking up to you\u2026 So we are honoured as the SPAR Group to be one of the sponsors to be making this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
World Netball have confirmed that fans around the globe will be able to watch every match of the NWYC2025\u00a0live and free on\u00a0NetballPass\u00a0and the\u00a0Netball World Cup YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
From\u00a020-25 September, matches will be available on both NetballPass and YouTube. The final three days of competition, including the medal ceremony (26-28 September), will stream exclusively on NetballPass \u2013 still completely free to access.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"