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Baby Proteas head coach Precious Mthembu has welcomed the invitation to participate in the 2025 Telkom Netball League ahead of the Netball Youth World Cup.
This comes after Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molekwane confirmed that they will include the SA Under-21 squad in the TNL A section for the upcoming season.
Speaking to SABC Sport, Mthembu says it will also give non-regular players an opportunity to be assessed ahead of their trip to Gibraltar in September.
“It is very important for the U21 squad to partake in the TNL, and it will help us to make sure that players are on the same level,” said Mthembu.
“It will be a great opportunity for players who were not part of the Jamaica tour and players who have also not played in the TNL before, and help us assess our combinations ahead of the World Cup.”
The Baby Proteas squad recently managed a Sunshine Series clean sweep over Jamaica at the National Sports Centre in Kingston, and Mthembu says it came as a huge confidence booster and gives them solid ground to build on.
“We have a couple of things that we need to work on from the Jamaica tour, but I am happy the players were bold and believed in themselves. It gives us so much confidence heading to the World Cup,’’ added Mthembu.
Mthembu further expressed her excitement to be leading a committed group of players as she looks to finalise their main combinations ahead of the World Cup.
“It is exciting to see all 25 players fighting for the spot in the final 15. We love to see their commitment and it will help to make the right choices when finalising our main combinations,’’ she concluded.
