Groundwork laid for successful 2023 Netball World Cup

The 2022 netball calendar had many events and moments that have set the scene for the Netball World Cup year.

Some of these will have a big hand in especially how the Spar Proteas will perform at the tournament when the world descends on Cape Town for the global tournament set for 28 July to 6 August.

CONTRACTING PLAYERS

The secret to well performing teams in world netball is professionalising the game. Countries like defending champions New Zealand, England, and Australia have been running the game professionally for years. This has made them powerhouses of the sport.

Netball South Africa’s decision to contract players for the senior national team is definitely a game changer that will spur the country to a more competitive team on the world stage.

One of the clauses in the contract is that the signed players need to stay at the top of their game or risk losing their place. This will urge the players, even those who are in the employ, to keep working hard to stay fit but also competitive so that they don’t lose their place.

Although the first list of contracted players is 24, NSA hasn’t closed the door to other players who qualify to play for the senior national team. This will in turn work well for the selection panel in the finalisation of the final 12-player squad for the World Cup.

One of the biggest positives about this move is that it will allow players to focus on the game and not have to worry about their financial obligations and the financial rewards of these contracts are already contributing to positive change for some of the players who are making a difference in their families’ lives, such as Nomfundo Mngomezulu who used some of her earnings from Netball SA to build a family home for her mother and brother.

TELKOM NETBALL LEAGUE

Netball SA’s quest to have more coaches in the top level of netball in the country saw the federation decide to change things around in this season’s top tier competition. The federation made a ruling that some of the coaches who had been sitting as assistants in the last few seasons be promoted to head coaches.

The coaches who had more experience took on the role of mentor coach. Rozanne Mathys and Emily Mathobela, of Gauteng Jaguars and Limpopo Baobabs respectively, are some of the coaches who took to the hot seats.

This boded well for the five time champions as Mathys led them to yet another final, only to be dethroned by provincial rivals, Gauteng Golden Fireballs. Mathobela’s stint at the TNL also allowed her to lead Team South Africa at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Youth Games.

The Tshwane University of Technology coach guided the national Under-19 side to a successful tournament in which they dominated the other teams from the Southern region and brought back home the gold medal.

Fireballs’ maiden trophy also became a game changer in a different tournament. For the first time, Johannesburg A won their maiden title at the SPAR National Netball Championships, disrupting a 10-year dominance of the tournament by Tshwane A, with players like Mngomezulu shining as one of the star players for the Fireballs and Johannesburg A in both tournaments.

The continuation of Dr. Elsje Jordaan’s leadership from the TNL into the Spar Champs proved fruitful for the Gauteng North teams.

NETBALL WORLD CUP ANNOUNCEMENTS

The announcements and launches of the official ball and mascot for next year’s World Cup brought some excitement about the tournament. The vibrant Letsatsi has since been seen in several events, brightening the scene and reminding South Africans of what is coming at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The excitement that the mascot brings serves as excellent marketing for the big event.

The draw for the tournament led to the opening of ticket sales. The selling out of the opening day tickets of the tournament is an indication that the fans of the sport had been waiting eagerly to get their hands on tickets. However, the difference in ticket prices between the Spar Proteas hosted locally and the World Cup prices are huge. This may have a negative impact on the normal netball fan, who may not be able to afford hundreds of rands for a single ticket from the R20 they paid during the recent Spar Diamond Challenge.

The relationship that NSA has with Spar and Telkom was further strengthened by the two corporates getting on board for the World Cup as the headline sponsors for the tournament.

“We are very proud of our association with these two companies. We are delighted that they will be premier sponsors of the 2023 Netball World Cup. Their domestic sponsorships have been crucial to the development of netball throughout South Africa, from the grassroots level to our national team, and it is important for them to be part of the first Netball World Cup in Africa,” says NSA president Cecilia Molokwane.

NORMA PLUMMER’S TAKEOVER

Having Norma Plummer as the mentor coach for Dorette Badenhorst at the Commonwealth Games should have been the biggest hint that she might be making a comeback to the national team. The Proteas’ performance at the competition was the reason NSA was looking to officially bring back the Australian mentor to lead the team until after the World Cup.

Plummer was able to lead the national team to the semifinals for the first time since the 1995 edition of the competition in her first stint at the helm, however, she only has a few months with the team before the big tournament.

The Quad Series in January will be the acid test as to how far the team have come in terms of readiness for Cape Town and to build expectations for the finish. The federation has asked for nothing but a podium finish at home but it may require a bit more time for Plummer to get the team back up, especially after finishing sixth behind Uganda in Birmingham.

“It’s a process. I can’t give the answer, ‘yes, we’re going to win or yes, we’re going to finish there.’ This is a build up so the Quad Series will give me an even better angle on what’s actually happening. You never go out on court thinking ‘if we don’t win, that’s okay.’ No, no. We’re going for a win, we always go for a win,” says Plummer

MEN’S NETBALL

Men’s netball deserves a mention as the sport has been gaining popularity over the past two years. NSA saw teams participating in the Males National Championships and Twizza Netball Club Championships.

The federation also launched the Rea Bapala Males Festival for seniors and the Under-23 division. The national team got to compete in an international competition for the first time when they played in the Americas Netball Men’s Championships, where they returned with four individual awards, including Player of the Tournament, which was awarded to Protea Pumas captain, Shiko Mokaila.

By: Busisiwe Mokwena