South Africa loves its netball and testimony to this, is the fact that Cape Town, has won the bid to host the 2023 Netball World Cup. This is a major first for South African netball as it is the first time the tournament is coming to South Africa and the continent of Africa as a whole. For more about everything netball and the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019, read on.
Netball World Cup: South Africa beat off stiff competition
To win the bid to host the Netball World Cup, South Africa beat off stiff competition in the form of four-time world champions New Zealand. The Netball World Cup is expected to do major things for tourism in South Africa, bringing an expected 120 000 visitors to Cape Town, and injecting an excess of R2.5 billion into South Africa’s economy.
A feast of netball for 10 days
The Netball World Cup will involve 16 teams and it will be held over 10 days with 60 matches in total. The tournament will be held at the International Convention Centre in the heart of Cape Town. The event is expected to very competitive, especially as three teams from Africa currently feature in the top 10 of the International Netball Federation’s World Rankings.
Proteas gearing up for the 2019 Netball World Cup
The 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup is due to start in Liverpool, UK on July 12 and the Protea National Netball Team is undergoing intensive training to prepare for the upcoming World Cup.
Eight of South Africa’s top players are currently playing in the three best netball leagues in the world, where they are gaining world-class experience taking on other top players. The Proteas will leave South Africa on June 28 and have four days to prepare for the first match at the World Cup on July 12, which will be against Trinidad and Tobago.
The South African Netball World Cup Team
The Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 will take place from 12-21 July and will involve 20 exciting, world-class sessions of netball. South Africa has taken part in eight World Cups and is currently ranked fifth in the world! The Proteas automatically qualified for this year’s World Cup due to their international ranking. The final 12 players that will be facing the world’s best in July, proudly representing the Proteas on the world stage will be:
Bongiwe Pretty Msomi,(Centre/wing Attach) Erin Burger, (Centre, Wing Attach, Wing Defence) Ine-Marie Venter, (Goal Shooter) Izette Griesel, Karla Pretorius, (Goal Defence, Wing Defence) Khanyisa Chawane, (Centre) Lenize Potgieter,(Goal shooter) Maryka Holtzhausen, (Goal Attack) Phumza Charmaine Maweni,(Goal Keeper/Goal Defence) Renske Stoltz, (Goal Attack) Shadine van der Merwe (Coal Defence, Goal Keeper) and Zanele Vuyiswa Vimbela (Goal Keeper, Goal Defence).
South African Netball Players to watch
Bongi Msomi has been earmarked as a player to watch, She is currently captain of the Proteas and has represented South Africa as wing attack in two World Cups, 2011 and 2015. Another player to keep an eye on, although with her height she is hard to miss, is goal attack Lenize Potgieter. Just over six feet tall, she is a fierce competitor on the field. This year’s Netball World Cup will be the second time she represents South Africa in a World Cup.
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