South Africa will head into the Africa Netball Cup with only one mission, to conquer the continent.
A total of 10 countries will take part in this year’s competition.
The women’s contest will see nine teams vying for the title while eight countries will be aiming for the championship in the men’s division of the tournament.
The Spar Proteas returns to the continental competition set for 9 to 14 December at the MTC Dome in Swakopmund, Namibia. South Africa opted to sit out of last year’s competition as the team prepared to host the Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
Uganda and Malawi also missed out on the 2023 edition which was won by Zambia.
Proteas assistant coach Zanele Mdodana has stressed the importance of not being complacent following a positive start to her and head coach Jenny van Dyk’s tenure at the helm of the senior team.
“We just recently played Malawi in a three-test match, and they have just appointed Peace Kalua and Mary Waya as co-coaches. That really changes the dynamic of that team, we are certainly now resting on our laurels thinking that since we beat Malawi 3-0 last month, it is going to be the same script. We also need to deal with the situation of Uganda that has been a thorny issue on our side. We lost to them at the World Cup, and we also lost to them at the Commonwealth Games, it’s going to be interesting to see if they have a full squad there,” says Mdodana.
The former Proteas skipper reckons that South Africa needs to cement their place in world netball.
The team got rattled after failing to secure a top five finish in Cape Town, an end that threatened their number one spot on the continent. Mdodana says securing the top position is non-negotiable.
“It is very important because we’re fluctuating. We want to go back to consistency and rubber-stamp our authority. It is very important for us to be number one ranked in Africa because the rest of the world will want to play against us. We have been having challenges with Uganda, and it will be important to see if Jenny and I’s coaching style or strategy can get South Africa the confidence to put that issue to rest. It is a good challenge for us, one we are looking forward to. We do have Jamaica later on in the year and in January we have England, we will be playing higher ranked teams than us. It is important we sort out the Africa side of things first then we can tackle the rest of the top teams in the world,” she says.
Mdodana is hopeful that they will be able to use all the players at their disposal for the competition to try and use different combinations.
“We are just waiting to find out if we will be able to rotate the 15 and play a different 12 players in every game. We hope that will be allowed but it will depend on the rules of the competition if we have that luxury to change players in every game,” she says.
Meanwhile, the South African senior men’s team is looking forward to successfully defending its title.
The Puma Proteas clinched the inaugural title in a competition that featured only four countries.
This year’s competition has doubled, and head coach Jabulani Vilane understands that the other teams are working hard to take the title of Africa’s top men’s team.
“It is always hard and there are no easy teams in netball because they always want to beat us. So, we must not underestimate any opponent. There is Swaziland, Lesotho, and Burundi that are coming into the competition, and Zimbabwe is not resting. They started their camp a long time ago. They really want to beat us. We have to be switched on and make sure our preparations are on point. We have Kenya again; they are not an easy team at all. They are physical and aggressive. They always want to prove on court that they are a dominant team. We have to try everything that will make us win,” says Vilane.
The coach had an opportunity to fine tune his players during a 3-0 win over Zimbabwe in a friendly three test tournament last month in preparation for the continental competition.
Although some players didn’t take part in the series as they were due for the Fast5 World Series in New Zealand, Vilane is confident that his players know what is at stake.
“I have worked with all the players, and they now know what I want and how to execute the strategies we work on. The first two days that we will be together I will be looking at how they adapt to the attacking and defensive strategies I want. We will also be looking at character, determination, and teamwork from the players,” he says.
Participating countries
Women: Namibia, Uganda, South Africa, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Men: Namibia, Burundi, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.