The SPAR Proteas who were last in action in January 2020 during the Vitality Netball Nations Cup will face off against the Malawi Queens in a three-match series between the 26th to 30th November in Rustenburg.
SPAR Proteas Head Coach Dorette Badenhorst spent time at the recently concluded Telkom Netball League where she was assessing players she would like to incorporate into the national team set up as the country gears up for the 2023 Netball World Cup.
Director of Selections Mpumi Javu together with the selectors and SPAR Proteas Coach Dorette Badenhorst have sat and looked at various players who could possibly be part of the national team set up. Javu has expressed her satisfaction in the provisional squad selected by the selectors and coach.
The coach has called up a provisional squad of 30 players who will partake in a three-day training camp from the 22nd of November in Sun City before a final team of 15 players is confirmed. This final team will then play in the SPAR Challenge Series against Malawi.
“2020 has been a very challenging year for Netball South Africa as we have had to reshuffle and revise our events calendar for the year, some of the things we had planned on doing have had to fall off due to Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown that came with it. We were all concerned that we may not see our national team compete this year, I am delighted that we will have the SPAR Challenge series taking place this year against Malawi, said Cecilia Molokwane, Netball South Africa President.
Because of the current lockdown regulations and restrictions, the 2020 SPAR Challenge Series will be played in a bubble environment with no spectators allowed.
“As a team, we have been challenged by a difficult year riddled with COVID-19, we are thankful for the opportunity to play an International game this year. Playing against any African country is never easy, but this will be a great challenge for the players, and we are looking forward to building the team,” – Dorette Badenhorst, SPAR Proteas Head Coach.
This will be the first time that the two countries clash since the 2019 Africa Netball Africa Cup which South Africa won last year in Cape Town.
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