Brutal netball games in the offing
JOBURG – The expanded Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League is poised to set the scene alight with netball games in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban.
Netball lovers in and around Johannesburg can look forward to brutal, but entertaining games when the 2016 Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League kicks off with matches in Pretoria on 8 April before moving to the Ellis Park Indoor Arena in Johannesburg on 20 May.
Netball South Africa (NSA) president, Mimi Mthethwa, announced an expanded league as another step towards its overall objective of making the sport a professional entity in this country. The expanded 10-team league will be played in the three cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban.
The league, now in its third year, begins with the first match between defending champions the Free State Crinums against the Gauteng Jaguars at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria.
It will feature 10 teams from all nine provinces competing in an intense eight-week round-robin competition.
From 8 to 24 April, all fixtures will be played at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria. From 29 April to 15 May, the league will move to the Ellis Park Indoor Arena in Johannesburg, and from 20 May the league shifts to the Olive Convention Centre in Durban where the final match will be played on 29 May.
“This is the third year of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League and we are… on track to netball being a professional sport,” said Mthethwa at the launch at the SAB World of Beer in Newtown.
The launch was also attended by Deputy Minister of Sport, Gert Oosthuizen and Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
“What is pleasing is that it’s not only our dream as Netball South Africa to see the sport become professional in this country, but our sponsors have also said they see themselves as partners in this dream. This expanded league is the first step towards that goal, and it’s a big step,” Mthethwa said.
SAB’s Micah Naidoo, general manager of flavoured alcoholic beverages said: “As partners with Netball South Africa, we are working towards the goal of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League becoming as prestigious as its football counterpart, the Premier Soccer League in this country.”
“I think this is indeed the year of possibilities for netball in South Africa and I believe any sponsors who have an interest in supporting us can see that we mean business and are working hard to make sure that we improve the sport in this country,” Mthethwa added.
