Netball World Cup trophy en route to South Africa

The countdown to the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023 takes another significant step forward with the arrival of the World Cup trophy on South African soil. It is scheduled for tomorrow, May 25, before it embarks on a countrywide tour ahead of the tournament, which will be held in Cape Town from July 28 to August 6. This is the first time the World Cup is taking place on the African continent.

The president of Netball South Africa, Cecilia Molokwane, along with the CEO of Netball SA, Blanche de la Guerra, received the trophy in London from World Netball president, Liz Nicholl, at the South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square on May 23. Also present at the handover was the high commissioner of South Africa to the United Kingdom, Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo.

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The two Netball SA executives will fly back to South Africa today, May 24, and arrive at KwaZulu-Natal’s King Shaka International Airport with the famous silverware the following day. There, they will be received by the premier of the province, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, and mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, Mxolisi Kaunda, and their delegations plus KwaZulu-Natal’s netball officials. Also in attendance will be Bongi Msomi, who will captain the SPAR Proteas at the World Cup.

May 25 is celebrated across the continent as Africa Day. The tour will start in KwaZulu-Natal, before moving to Gauteng, and then stopping off in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, the Free State, the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, before reaching its final destination in the Western Cape.

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The dates for the tour:
• May 25-29: KwaZulu-Natal
• May 30 – June 3: Gauteng
• June 4-8: Mpumalanga
• June 9-13: Limpopo
• June 14-18: Free State
• June 19-23: North West
• June 24-28: Northern Cape
• June 29 – July 3: Eastern Cape
• July 4-12: Western Cape.