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Pictured at the departure media conference of the South African SPAR Baby Protea under 21 team for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar on Monday, 8 September 2025 are from left; Mpudi Maubabe (National PR, Communications & Sponsorships Manager), Phumza Maweni (SPAR Baby Proteas Assistant Coach), Precious Mthembu (SPAR Baby Proteas Head Coach), Karla Victor (SPAR Baby Proteas Vice Captain) and Mami Diale (Acting President of Netball South Africa).
The SPAR Baby Proteas are on their way to the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, determined to improve on their last outing and make South Africa proud.
The under-21 side leaves for London on Tuesday night, where they will play warm-up matches before the global showpiece begins on 19 September.
South Africa last featured at the World Youth Cup in 2017 in Gaborone, where they finished sixth.
After an eight-year wait, with the 2021 edition cancelled due to COVID-19, the team is eager to test themselves again against the world’s best.
Captain Phophi Nematangari says the squad has set its sights on the podium.
“We’re definitely aiming for better than the previous World Cup,” she said.
“We’re planning on going there and giving our best … we’re aiming for the podium. That’s the goal that we’re looking for,” says Nematangari.
The Baby Proteas’ have had promising build-up, having featured in the SPAR National Championships, gained experience in the Telkom Netball League, and even trained alongside the senior SPAR Proteas. Earlier this year, they underlined their potential with a clean sweep against Jamaica’s under-21s, winning three-match series away in Kingston.
For Netball South Africa, the return to the world stage represents a vital opportunity. Acting president Mami Diale says while there are high hopes, the emphasis is on support rather than pressure.
“Obviously, there is expectation … it would be good if we could be top four at least, and it will be better if we can have a podium,” says Diale. “But we are not putting pressure, we are encouraging them and we are supporting them towards that because we have to do it together.”
At the helm, head coach Precious Mthembu, assisted by fellow former Protea Phumza Maweni, says the players are ready for the challenge.
“As former players, it’s our role to make the players understand the magnitude and how great this challenge is for them,” she says. “We’re definitely ready. It’s our time now. We want to do well in our pool and I’m sure all the work that we’ve done will be rewarded in the end.”
The Baby Proteas are drawn in Pool D with Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Malawi and Fiji.
Title sponsors SPAR are fully behind the team. PR, Communications & Sponsorships Manager Mpudi Maubane said the players carry the hopes of young girls across South Africa.
“You are going out there to have fun, to represent the country at large, but you must know that back at home, a young girl somewhere who is passionate about the sport of netball is looking up to you,” she says.
“From the SPAR Group, we are saying – young girls, go out there, it is possible when you believe in a particular dream.”
The team will open their campaign against Barbados on 20 September.
