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RIGHT NOTES: The tiny island’s netball Sunshine Girls and football Reggae Girlz impress on world stages in a week marking 61 years of celebrating emancipation day
By Ali Mphaki
There is a well-known Jamaican phrase which sums up their world outlook – “Wi likkle but wi tallawah.” The meaning: We may be small but we are mighty.
The island nation with a population of around 3 million has produced some remarkable sporting results over the years, but it is events of this week that will forever remain etched in the collective memory of its nation. At the Netball World Cup in Cape Town the Sunshine Girls, as Jamaica are known, have been very dominant in the competition so far, outclassed their Caribbean rivals Trinidad and Tobago 89-26 and recorded their fifth-consecutive victory in the tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday.
The Connie Francis-coached team is scheduled to play defending champions New Zealand in their top-of-the-table clash in Pool G on Saturday.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, the Reggae Girls, Jamaica’s senior women’s football team, in another breathtaking display of grit, determination, rewrote history yet again when on Wednesday they held Brazil to a famous goalless draw in their final preliminary round of matches in Group F at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Jamaica not only secured a historic position in the competition’s knockout rounds for the first time in the tiny island’s history, but they did so without giving up a goal. The outcome also denied Brazil a place in the Round of 16 for the first time since 1995 . The Reggae Girlz first made history when they held fifth-ranked France to a 0-0 tie on July 23, earning their first-ever World Cup point. The Jamaicans captured even more hearts on July 30 as they overcame Panama 1-0 in their first-ever win at the global showpiece.
Now, the Reggae Girlz’s footprints will forever stain the walkways of Caribbean football history — male or female version of the game. They play against Colombia on Tuesday morning.
Jamaica’s accomplishment occurred a day after the country celebrated Emancipation Day and just a few days before the country celebrates its 61st year of Independence. When team Jamaica touched down in Cape Town three weeks ago they had one goal in mind – claiming the title at the Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023).
This was no idle threat as Jamaica have played at every Netball World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1963 and have claimed three bronze medals – in 1991, 2003 (as hosts) and 2007.
With one eye now fixed on the semi-finals of the Netball World Cup tournament, assistant coach of the Sunshine Girls Shawn Murdock believes that the Jamaicans are hitting the right notes at the moment and are feeling more confident heading into the last-four of the competition.
Murdock said that the New Zealand encounter is going to be a very challenging one, but the Sunshine Girls are ready to take down their opponents today. “It is going to be a tough test, but if we want to win the World Cup then we have to play and beat all the teams and so we are more than ready for this game,” he said.
FACT-FILE:
Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola. The national capital is Kingston. Christopher Columbus, who first sighted the island in 1494, called it Santiago, but the original indigenous name of Jamaica, or Xaymaca, has persisted. The great majority of its people are of African ancestry, the descendants of slaves brought by European colonists. Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom in 1962 but remains a member of the Commonwealth.
I NEVER PROMISED GOLD – SPAR PROTEAS COACH
UNREALISTIC: Blame game begins as SA fails to reach semi-finals of the 2023 Netball World Cup
By Netball Reporter
Proteas coach Norma Plummer has defended their failure to reach at least the semi-final of the Netball World Cup on home soil. South Africa officially bowed out of the running for the title when they failed to beat Uganda by a required margin of 63 points on Thursday, after salvaging a draw against defending champions New Zealand on Wednesday.
It would always be a big ask for the fifth-ranked Proteas to upstage the likes of second-ranked New Zealand and fourth-ranked Jamaica. Asked whether she had a message following their failure to reach the final four, Plummer quickly noted competing for silverware was never her aim but rather an unrealistic expectation that Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molekwane had publicly set.
“At no time did I ever promise that we’d be taking the gold medal, it was your president of Netball South Africa that has promised that. I’m realistic all the time. [When you] come in, and have three camps and you play against world champions, and some of these players play at a much lower level from what we’ve come up against”, she told reporters.
“So, I’m totally proud of those performances. If you could come up from playing in a lower grade and compete at that level and get wins, and match it that team is growing”, said the Australian.
While calculators were out for their final Pool G clash with the She Cranes on Thursday, the 78-year-old mentor admitted she knew their chances of a semi-final berth had been blown along with the final whistle of their 48-all draw with the Silver Ferns a day earlier.
“We actually had to beat New Zealand to get the qualification, and maybe take Jamaica. So, my expectation was, I knew once we were done and drew and also lost to Jamaica that would be a struggle to even get there.” However, skipper Bongi Msomi felt otherwise and revealed the conversation she had with her teammates in the dressing room before their crunch clash with Uganda.
“We definitely would’ve loved to be in the semi-final and in our circle, as we were talking with the girls, we were like ‘Nothing is impossible’. When we went in [this game] we thought we’d just give it a crack and see how far we can go with it”, Msomi believed.
“At half-time, I have to say it felt like we still had a chance, you always have a chance until you don’t. At this stage, yeah, it’s quite disappointing, but more than anything we have to focus on, maybe, keeping our ranking because Uganda is really good.
If we have to come against them again they’re gonna come hard and I think today they showed us that they can step up and actually want to grab a win”, Msomi said.
*The Proteas will face Tonga on Friday evening (18h00) in a play-off match, from which the winners will then meet either Uganda or Malawi in the 5th/6th-place ranking fixture on Sunday.
The losers of the respective play-off matches will then drop into the 7th/8th-place ranking fixture, which is scheduled for Saturday.
Sports:
Briefs
FIFTH OR SIXTH FOR SPAR PROTEAS
The Proteas utmost focus will now be on making sure they can secure a fifth place finish at the Netball World Cup.
On Friday night the South Africans sealed a dominant 72-46 win over Tonga at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. It was evident Norma Plummer’s team were in a buoyant mood with players enjoying themselves on court and often smiling during the game.
Elmere’ van der Berg was again in fine form, along with Nicole Taljaard who got South Africa into a healthy lead in by the third quarter of the game. The Proteas take on Uganda for a second time in a few days for the 5th/6th playoff on Sunday at 11am.
FIERY MEET FOR SOWETO LEGENDS AND MASTERS
The Tsietsi Mashinini centre in Central Western Jabavu, Soweto, will be a smouldering cauldron when Soweto Masters and Legends converge for their monthly meeting next Sunday 9am. Heading the agenda will be the association’s financials following allegations of impropriety which fingers long-time serving treasurer Johannes “Big Boy” Kholoane.
The soccer veterans football structure will also have to deal with the R16000 fine slapped by SARS for failing to submit tax returns on time. “The meeting will guide us on a way forward in dealing with these challenges and we urge all members in good standing to attend”, said chair Finky Sekete.
NO HOST YET FOR 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES
The Commonwealth Games is in crisis – without a host for its next edition in 2026 and struggling to find one for the following event four years later. Last month, the Australian state of Victoria abruptly withdrew as hosts for the 2026 event citing rising costs.
Now the government of Alberta, the only confirmed potential bidder left for 2030, has halted its attempt to bring the event to Canadian cities Calgary and Edmonton.
The Commonwealth Games, staged across multiple sports, take place every four years. First held in 1930, they have only previously been cancelled during World War Two.
To be eligible to participate in the Games, competitors must be from one of the Commonwealth’s 56 member nations. Most of the countries in the Commonwealth were once part of the British Empire.
AMAFANDAYS ARE HERE..FEEL IT
The launch of “Amafandays” will shake up the local football season with its objective to reward the Premier Soccer League’s best fans.
Taking place in selected matches at the beginning and end of each month, the special fan days will see the best-dressed supporter rewarded with R100 000. If they are a DStv Compact (or higher) subscriber, the cash will be doubled.
SuperSport’s cameras will pan the crowds for suitably dressed fans and the three considered to be best will be invited onto the field at halftime to take a penalty kick against local television stars who feature on the DStv platform.
Each of the PSL’s 16 clubs will have a chance to host these fan-friendly days.
‘DOWNS OFF TO A GOOD START
Goals from Peter Shalulile and Lucas Ribeiro ensure that Downs secured three points on opening night as they overcame Sekhukhune United on Friday evening at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
In an up and down encounter, Masandawana held their nerve despite going down to 10 men to withstand the Sekhukhune fightback to register their first win of the new season. Speaking after the match, Head Coach Rulani Mokwena assessed the result:
“The first game of the season is always difficult, there are still a few cobwebs, there is still a bit of anxiety, we also don’t know so much about the opposition, it’s difficult without proper information to do the due diligence that we normally do.”
“The boys were very brave and put in a very good shift with a new formation and a couple of new schemes – with a couple of new players. It’s a good base, we can only improve and get better from here.”
