Netball World Cup 2023: South Africa, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe aim high
- Published
Bongiwe Msomi (left) helped South Africa finish fourth at the 2019 Netball World Cup - a result the hosts hope to improve upon in 2023
The Netball World Cup will be held in Africa for the first time when the quadrennial tournament takes place in South Africa from 28 July to 6 August.
One African team will compete in each of the initial four-team pools, with Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe joining the hosts in hoping to become the first champions from the continent.
All of the matches during the 16th edition of the finals will be played at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The opening day features Zimbabwe, in only their second World Cup, facing an Australia side who are hot favourites to become champions. Uganda's match against holders New Zealand and Malawi's meeting with England are also among the early highlights.
BBC Sport Africa takes a look at each of Africa's four representatives, starting with the hosts.
South Africa's Lenize Potgieter talks to BBC Sport Africa TV about mental health
South Africa
Pool C | World ranking: 5th
With home advantage, the hosts are hoping to go one game further than their fourth-placed finish in 2019.
Their meeting with Jamaica looks the most intriguing of their early games, being a rematch of an encounter won by the Spar Proteas by two points during the first pool stage in 2019. Ahead of that game, former Australia international Norma Plummer's side will hope to have beaten Wales and Sri Lanka.
Coach: Hugely experienced Plummer is a World Cup winner as both player and coach, having first tasted victory on the court with Australia in 1975 and from the sideline as coach of her country in 2007.
She also coached Australian team West Coast Fever before a first spell at South Africa's helm from 2016 to 2019.
Plummer had targeted a glorious career swansong at the 2019 tournament and stepped down after its conclusion. Now 78, the revered veteran returned to the role in 2022 and has another chance to see her dream of victory with a second nation realised to further underline her status as one of the greatest coaches in netball history.
78-year-old Norma Plummer won the Netball World Cup with Australia as both a player and coach
Star player: One player who has lauded Plummer's abilities is Karla Pretorius. The defender was named most valuable player at the 2019 World Cup, rewarding a second successive exceptional tournament after she made the most interceptions at the previous edition.
Pretorius played with current international team-mate Lenize Potgieter at Team Bath in the UK's Netball Super League (NSL) in 2016 before becoming the first South African to feature in the Australian Super Netball League when she joined Sunshine Coast Lightning, where her dazzling performances have contributed to a succession of trophies.
First appearance (1963): South Africa came sixth when they appeared at the inaugural tournament in England in 1963. Despite victories over Scotland, West Indies, Wales and Ceylon (the old name for Sri Lanka), it remains their lowest ever finish.
Total appearances - 16
Best performance (runners-up, 1995): After 28 years away due to the apartheid sporting ban, South Africa returned in style with a flawless performance across pools containing New Zealand and England as they reached the final in 1995 before defeat to Australia.
Ahead of this tournament, governing body Netball South Africa and their partners have invested significantly in a bid to ensure a podium finish on home soil.
Key stat: 12 years after making her international debut, Bongiwe Msomi is South Africa's record caps holder with 158 international appearances.
Pool stage one fixtures: Wales (28 July), Sri Lanka (29 July), Jamaica (30 July)
Hosts South Africa's toughest test in Pool C is likely to come from Jamaica
Malawi
Pool B | World ranking: 6th
After sixth-placed finishes at the past three tournaments, Malawi are aiming to go further following a 2019 edition in which they had the misfortune of being matched with Australia and New Zealand in the second pool stage, finishing third behind both to miss out on a place in the semi-finals.
At this World Cup, England await in Malawi's second game, as well as less daunting opponents in Scotland and Barbados. The Queens should be full of confidence, having only been beaten by South Africa in qualifying, but will be without captain Caroline Mtukule through injury.
Coach: Having been technical director since May 2020, Sam Kanyenda provided continuity when he was appointed interim coach in place of Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa in June, and has said he will not greatly alter the team's approach.
Star player: Strathclyde Sirens' Towera Vinkhumbo is one of four Malawi internationals who play club netball outside their homeland and the defender is approaching her fourth consecutive World Cup after an outstanding campaign in the NSL.
The 32-year-old, who also plays football for Malawi's national team, intercepted the most balls and claimed the most turnovers of any player during the 2023 season.
Towera Vinkhumbo's sporting family includes sister Salome who is also a Malawi football international
First appearance (1995): Malawi made their debut at the World Cup in England in 1995.
Defeats to the hosts, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago meant they finished fourth behind those teams in the second pool stage, but an overall record of four victories from their eight games saw the newcomers finish eighth out of a record 27 teams at the tournament.
Total appearances - 6
Best performance (5th, 2007): On their third appearance at the finals in New Zealand in 2007, Malawi recovered from a thrashing in their opener against the hosts to beat Botswana and Wales on their way to a heavy quarter-final loss to England.
A narrow victory over South Africa was a memorable way to clinch their best ever finish at the World Cup, taking fifth ahead of their African rivals.
Key stat: Mwai Kumwenda was the first African to finish a World Cup as top scorer, with 321 goals in 2015.
Pool stage one fixtures: Scotland (28 July), England (29 July), Barbados (30 July)
Malawi face two teams from the UK in Pool B, England and Scotland
Uganda
Pool D | World ranking: 8th
Despite being one of the teams with the least World Cup experience, Uganda coach Fred Mugerwa says fans can expect his players to impress again four years after they finished seventh in England.
Mugerwa suffered a major blow when the prolific Peace Proscovia - the top scorer in the NSL at the time - was ruled out of the finals with a medical issue in May, but his team will be confident of beating Trinidad and Tobago and Singapore in a group where reigning champions New Zealand look certain to provide their toughest challenge.
Coach: Mugerwa led Uganda to victory over South Africa at the 2022 Commonwealth Games on their way to a fifth-place finish.
BBC Sport Africa TV: Uganda's She Cranes
The She Cranes coach believes strongly in his squad but has told them to take the tournament one step at a time - advice he is wisely adopting personally, too, after his excitement for the 2015 World Cup was extinguished when he was sacked shortly before it began.
Star player: Goal shooter Mary Cholhok Nuba has top-scored three times in the NSL, including the most recent season when 41 of her 808 goals came in Loughborough Lightning's Grand Final victory over London Pulse.
First appearance (1979): Uganda debuted at the 1979 tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, losing to England and Saint Kitts and Nevis before edging to a first ever finals victory by beating Canada.
It took the She Cranes 36 years to return to the tournament, reaching the second pool stage in 2015.
Total appearances - 4
Best performance (7th, 2019): Their most recent appearance at the World Cup was also Uganda's most successful, recovering from an opening defeat to England to collect three consecutive wins and beat Zimbabwe to seal seventh.
Can they continue their record of improving their placing each time they qualify for a World Cup?
Key stat: Cholhok and South Africa's Potgieter were the runaway leaders of an all-African top three in the 2023 NSL scoring charts. Potgieter's fellow South African, Severn Stars' Sigrid Burger, finished third.
Pool stage one fixtures: Singapore (28 July), New Zealand (29 July), Trinidad and Tobago (30 July)
Uganda face defending champions New Zealand in Pool D
Zimbabwe
Pool A | World ranking: 13th
There is no tougher task than Zimbabwe's meeting with the top team in the world, Australia, in the second match of the tournament.
The realism of the Gems' ambition to reach the semi-finals should be clearer by the time they have played their other Pool A opponents, Fiji and Tonga.
Coach: Assistant to former boss Lloyd Makunde at the 2019 World Cup, Ropafadzo Mutsauki was appointed in March 2022 and guided his nation through qualifying.
Zimbabwe captain Felisitus Kwangwa (right) expects her side to improve on their eighth-placed finish in 2019
Star player: Felisitus Kwangwa earned her first senior cap as a 19-year-old, becoming captain four years later and winning player of the match three times at the 2019 World Cup.
Those performances caught the eye of Surrey Storm who made Kwangwa the first Zimbabwean to play in the NSL. Now 28, the goal defence says her country can win the tournament.
First appearance (2019): Zimbabwe made their World Cup bow in England in 2019, beating Sri Lanka 79-49 on their debut before a loss to Australia and a thrilling two-point victory over Northern Ireland - a set of results which saw them finish second in their opening pool.
Zimbabwe's players kept their fans happy by winning their first ever Netball World Cup game, beating Sri Lanka in England in 2019
They lost every quarter to New Zealand and Malawi during the second pool stage but also beat Barbados comfortably as part of a highly respectable first appearance that established them on the world stage.
Total appearances - 2
Best performance (8th, 2019): Zimbabwe were rightfully proud to finish eighth in England, despite losing an all-African match-up for seventh against Uganda.
Driven on by their drumming fans, they showed ample spirit as they chased a comeback before dancing off court.
Key stat: Veteran goal attack or defence Joice Takaidza was the third-highest African scorer in 2019, amassing 198 points across seven matches.
Pool stage one fixtures: Australia (28 July), Fiji (29 July), Tonga (30 July)
Zimbabwe are in Pool A with tournament favourites Australia
Netball World Cup 2023 tickets
Netball South Africa chief executive Blanche de la Guerre says early high demand for high-profile matches is likely to be replicated once fixtures for the latter stages of the tournament are known.
"All the South Africa matches are sold out," De La Guerre told Cape Talk, external. "Australia, New Zealand, England and Jamaica are very popular. In one venue, you can see the top 16 countries in the world."
The remaining tickets are available from the Netball World Cup official website, external.
BBC coverage on TV, radio & online
Netball World Cup coverage will be available across the BBC. See the full details and all of the fixtures.