Just months before the Netball World Cup takes place in South Africa, Discovery announced a partnership with Netball SA as official wellness partner to the national netball team, the SPAR Proteas. The announcement was made at the Discovery headquarters in Sandton. On the sidelines of the event, the Daily Vox team caught up with Proteas captain, Bongani “Bongi” Msomi.
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Msomi made her debut for the national team in 2011. She became the deputy captain of the squad in 2013. In 2016, she was announced as the captain of the national team. Now as the team prepares for the World Cup which is happening in Cape Town from July to August, Msomi is preparing to lead the team. This will be the first tournament hosted on the African continent.
Msomi is well aware of the importance of the tournament especially in the year which is being called “the year of the women (in sport)”. Cecilia Molokwane, president, Netball SA said she was thrilled to partner with Discovery. Molokwane said: This announcement sees the collective utilisation of the power of sport to engage and inspire women and girls to get active and live healthier lives.” She said 2023 is an important year and “it is the year of the women, for women”.
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Speaking to The Daily Vox after the main event, Msomi addressed what the increasing support means for the team.
“I think in any of the biggest events in the sporting industry there are lots of opportunities. It is quite great to show that South Africa, when they deserve to host the World Cup, will get that chance through opportunities like this. Sport doesn’t have to be about physically playing on the court but it’s also about the opportunities that we can get off the court. Even though we are hosting as South Africa, it’s a great platform for Africans to be proud and to say we are capable. We don’t have to look at any other country and we are actually as great as they can be. We just need to show our diversity and show our culture. People are actually going to understand us even more. It is great for outside countries to come here and learn who is South Africa and who is Africa. It’s not even about just physically watching netball. It’s about seeing a whole lot of what South Africa has.
You might have your own interpretations about what South Africa is all about but you won’t know until you physically get here.
Firstly, if I think about it, a few years ago when I was part of the South African national side, we didn’t really have so much support. So it’s nice to see the changes happening in my presence. The way we did things before has completely changed. I want to believe that we’ve also changed within the team for the better. I feel very privileged that I can lead a squad that has a direction not just in performing on court but in support coming from outside. You don’t get the support unless you do the work. I hope that we as a squad can now step out there and not only do it for ourselves but also do it for the people that are giving all they can give to work for us. I love that every time I wake up as a leader of this side, I get the opportunity of changing things within our team but also our sport itself.
It’s so good for women in sport, I believe. We need to still do the work to make sure that women get the recognition they deserve.”
The tournament will be taking place from July 28 – August 6. Vitality were announced as sponsors of the Netball World Cup. The event, which takes place every four years, will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. South Africa will host 15 teams from around the world. Phase 2 of ticket sales for the tournament went on sale from February 10 and can be purchased via the official tournament website.
