The countdown to the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023 takes another significant step forward with the arrival on South Africa soil on Thursday of the trophy itself, before it embarks on a countrywide tour ahead of the competition to be held in Cape Town from 28 July to 6 August.
President of Netball South Africa, Cecilia Molokwane and the CEO of Netball SA, Blanche De La Guerra on Tuesday received the trophy in London from World Netball President, Liz Nicholl CBE, at the South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square, London. Also present at the handover was the High Commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom, Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo.
The two Netball SA executives will fly back to South Africa later on Wednesday and arrive at KwaZulu-Natal’s King Shaka International airport with the famous silverware at 16h35 local time on Thursday. There, they will be received by the Premier of KZN, Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Mxolisi Kaunda, and their delegations plus KZN netball officials. Also in attendance will be the South African captain for the World Cup, Bongi Msomi. A significant media presence is expected at the airport.
The arrival of the Netball World Cup trophy in KwaZulu-Natal signals the start of an epic and far-reaching tour around South Africa. The 25th of May is celebrated all across the continent as Africa Day. The VNWC2023 Trophy Tour will start in KwaZulu-Natal, before moving to Gauteng, and then stopping off in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, before reaching its final destination in the Western Cape.
THE DATES FOR THE TROPHY TOUR ARE AS FOLLOWS:
15-29 May: KwaZulu-Natal
30 May - 3 June: Gauteng
4-8 June: Mpumalanga
9-13 June: Limpopo
14-18 June: Free State
19-23 June: North West
24-28 June: Northern Cape
29 June - 3 July: Eastern Cape
4-12 July: Western Cape