SPAR Proteas target clean sweep vs Malawi in hotly anticipated return to action
New SPAR Proteas netball captain Khanyisa Chawane said her side are targeting a clean sweep in the three-Test SPAR Challenge against Malawi hosted by 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.”
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.”
The SPAR 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.
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.”
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.
Two hours before the start of each Test, the national men’s teams of South Africa and Zimbabwe will go head-to-head in a three-match series.
2024 SPAR Challenge
International Netball Test series, South Africa vs Malawi
Ellis Park Arena, City Of Johannesburg
Thursday, October 31 18h00
Saturday, November 2 17h00
Sunday, November 3 15h00
Photo Credit: Reg Caldecott