Msomi pleads for govt support

PROTEAS captain Bongiwe Msomi is urging the South African government to rally behind Netball SA’s bid to host the 2023 World Cup. It will be the first time the tournament is hosted in Africa.

The tournament, which would be exclusive to a hosting city, would provide an economic injection in excess of R2.6billion.

More than the financial gain, would be the boost to women in sport in SA – and by extension Africa.

The 2023 bid deadline is June 30, and the bid has to be endorsed and have the full backing of the government.

Msomi, pictured, has often spoken of netball being the sport that changed her life, improved her confidence as a teenager and reinforced her belief of the importance and significance of women in society. Msomi started playing the sport as a 16-year-old and said that had it not been for netball her story, like so many teen girls in SA, could have been very different.

Msomi speaks of the role of netball to inspire a generation of young women and the obvious impact of a World Cup in SA.

The Proteas captain said playing at home to packed arenas, with the sport enjoying massmedia coverage during the series against Australia, New Zealand and England, was unlike anything she had previously experienced in SA.

“The feeling of being introduced as representing South Africa is overwhelming. I have always been amazed by how we can come together as a country with different cultures, ideas, challenges and backgrounds, and have one passion and goal as a team,” Msomi said. “It was massive for the players to see the support and interest. Our performances lifted and we showed our ability to be competitive against the very best teams. To have the chance to host the world’s best teams in South Africa would simply be huge.” Head coach Norma Plummer said the Proteas, superbly captained by Msomi, had earned the respect of the top teams.

“There was a time not too long ago when the Proteas were losing to the best teams by 30 (points). Now it’s a five score differential and in some matches even less. It is getting closer and the more we play the best teams in full arenas (in SA) the better we will get,” said former Australian coach Plummer, who is recognised as one of the best coaches in the world.

The Proteas also proved equally competitive outside of SA when they came close to upsetting Australia in Canberra last year.

The Proteas put up their best performance against Australia since 1967.

Msomi and centre Erin Burger were outstanding against Australia and goalshooter Lenize Potgieter and goal attack Maryke Holtzhausen also showed their class.

“We are proud of what we are achieving,” Msomi said. “We have proved to ourselves, our supporters and the opposition that we can compete with the best in the world.”