New Spar Proteas netball captain Khanyisa Chawane has said her side are targeting a clean sweep in the three-Test Spar Challenge against Malawi in the City of Johannesburg starting this week.
Speaking ahead of the first match on Thursday, 31 October at the Ellis Park Arena, Chawane said:
“Our expectation is to win all three Test matches and win them convincingly because of the type of work we’ve put in and the type of players we have. We’ve got eight players who were at the Netball World Cup and Malawi have four, so we have much of an advantage and we want to make sure we use that.”
New Spar Proteas Netball Captain, Khanyisa Chawane
As for captaining the side for the first time, Chawane added: “I’m very excited but above all, it’s a privilege and an honour to be in this position. Our team is full of leaders and having to be the leader of leaders is a great position to be in and I’m looking forward to going out with the girls and playing some good netball.”
The Proteas will be taking to the court for the first time since December last year, and Chawane added that excitement is high.
“We’re very, very excited because if you look at 2024, we haven’t been together as a team so this is really great for us. In training, we’ve been looking good and we’re really looking forward to it.”
While she was appointed at the start of the year, this will also be new Spar Proteas head coach Jenny van Dyk’s first series in charge of the side.
The highly regarded coach admitted the pressure is on, but she is relishing the prospect of finally getting her tenure underway, echoing Chawane’s sentiments regarding a 3-0 series sweep.
“I definitely feel pressure. It’s been a long time and behind the scenes, we have worked hard,” said Van Dyk.
“We are wanting to push for a 3-0 win. At the end of the day, that’s what we need to deliver. We know what our goals are and we know where we’re going towards, but it’s still breaking it down quarter to quarter and ball for ball and ticking all those small boxes and making sure we have all that in place in order for us to get that end result.”
Spar Proteas Head Coach, Jenny van Dyk
The Proteas are currently ranked fifth in the world and Malawi are seventh.
Malawi coach Joanna Kachilika pointed out her side have been rebuilding with a focus on the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with only four players remaining from the squad that played at last year’s Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
“We need to prove that we are still the Malawi Queens, the African queens but we know it won’t be easy, it will be tough,” said Kachilika.
Malawi captain Towera Vinkhumbo said the team had played together for three weeks prior to heading to South Africa.
“I’m confident but at the same time I’m a little bit nervous because I know South Africa – it’s always a tough game when we play them,” she said. “We are not sure how they are going to play now that they are under new coaches.”
Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane welcomed the Malawi team to South Africa and emphasised the significance of the 2024 Spar Challenge.
“The Spar Challenge for us as Netball South Africa is key and very important, the reason being that we want Coach Jenny to test the waters and what better way to do it than at home… We want to see how she does it at home and how Khanyisa does it at home because they are both new. We need to give them all the support we can,” said Molokwane.
Netball South Africa President, Cecilia Molokwane
Meanwhile, series and SA team sponsors, Spar, announced on Tuesday their partnership with Netball South Africa in a new campaign to end period poverty.
Period poverty affects millions of women and girls in South Africa, limiting their education, well-being, and participation in sports like netball. A lack of access to menstrual products, compounded by the stigma, prevents them from reaching their full potential
Speaking about the campaign, Spar National PR, Communications and Sponsorship Manager Mpudi Maubane said:
“Together with Netball South Africa, we aim to spark meaningful dialogue around this pressing topic, reinforcing our commitment to community support and women empowerment. Working together, we can educate and empower our communities to break the stigma surrounding menstruation. We stand firm in our goal to #EndPeriodPoverty by 2030.”
Spar National PR, Communications and Sponsorship Manager Mpudi Maubane
As part of this campaign, for every goal scored by the Spar Proteas in the series, 50 packets of Spar petal pads will be donated to charity. Tickets to watch the Spar Proteas in action are available from shop.netball-sa.org.za. Adults will pay R100 and children R30.
2024 Spar Challenge International Netball Test Series between South Africa and Malawi at Ellis Park Arena in the City of Johannesburg
Thu 31 October, 18h00: First Test South Africa vs MalawiSat 2 November, 17h00: First Test South Africa vs MalawiSun 3 November, 15h00: First Test South Africa vs Malawi
Spar Proteas Netball Squad for the Challenge Series vs Malawi
Khanyisa Chawane (Captain)Karla Pretorius (Assistant Captain)Ine-Marí VenterRolene StreutkerElmeré van der BergOwethu NgubaneNicholé BreedtKamogelo MasekoRefiloe NketsaTarle MatheJeanté StrydomJamie van WykBoitumelo MahlokoNicola SmithAné Retief
Technical Team
Head Coach – Jenny van DykAssistant Coach – Zanele MdodanaTeam Manager – Vinolia AustinPhysiotherapy and Conditioning – Fikile PhashaStrength Conditioning – Werner BothaTeam Analyst – Michele van Rooyen
Original Copy: Netball SA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Pictured with the 2024 Spar Challenge trophy at the pre-tournament press conference are (from left) Mpudi Maubane (Spar National PR, Communications and Sponsorships Manager), Towera Vinkhumbo (Malawi captain), Joanna Kachilika (Malawi head coach), Cecilia Molokwane (President of Netball South Africa), Jenny van Dyk ( Spar Proteas head coach), Khanyisa Chawane (Spar Proteas captain), Cllr. Eunice Mgcina (Acting MMC Community Development, City of Johannesburg) and Modiegi Komane (CEO Netball South Africa). All Photos: Reg Caldecott
Photo 2 Caption: Spar Proteas captain Khanyisa Chawane: ‘“Our expectation is to win all three Test matches because of the type of work we’ve put in and the players we have.”
Photo 3 Caption: The highly regarded SA coach Jenny van Dyk admitted the pressure is on, but she is relishing the prospect of finally getting her tenure underway.
Photo 4 Caption: Towera Vinkhumbo, Joanna Kachilika (Malawi captain and coach), Jenny van Dyk and Khanyisa Chawane (Spar Proteas coach and captain).
