In four days’ time, the World’s Netball eyes will shift focus to Cape Town when the Mother City hosts the Netball World Cup.
The host nation, South Africa’s Proteas, are putting the final touches to their preparations ahead of the opening match of the tournament against Wales on Friday evening.
All teams participating at the Cape Town World Cup have finally arrived in the Mother City for the nearly week and a half long spectacle.
As the host nation, South Africa will open the tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Countdown to Netball World Cup:
Sixteen teams are taking part in the tournament, the Proteas are grouped with Jamaica, Wales and Sri Lanka in Group C.
Netball Vice Captain Karla Pretorius says, “We are very excited, we cant even wait for Friday to come and the opening against Wales. Preparations are going well so far, we still have a few days, but we obviously want to make use of it. We have waited long for this and we have done all the hard work. We want to showcase what South Africa is all about.”
Sacrifices have been made along the way and some of these athletes have been on the road for months on end, but for country duty, they say it is all worth it.
Netball player Nicol Taljaard says, “Out of everything we have done this year, we probably been away from home for about four to six months. I missed my best friend’s wedding, so its tough on the heart but you know that this is something you are going to remember for the rest of life.”
The opening match of the World Cup will be preceded by a opening ceremony starting at 4 o’clock, before South Africa host Wales at six pm at the Cape Town Convention Centre.
