Netball last week received a thumbs up to resume training and play according to Netball South Africa President Cecilia Molokwane. This was effective on the 16th of September 2020. And fast-forward to Monday 21st of September with the official launch of the domestic competition the Telkom Knockout ironing out the details for the resumption of play.
According to the initial plan by the federation, the tournament was scheduled for a May 2020 start, however due to the novel pandemic that brought the world to a standstill, this was proposed until know.
At the official launch at Monte Casino it was confirmed by the president Cecilia Molokwane that the 2020 edition of the Telkom Netball league will take place at the Mangung Indoor sports complex between 14th and the 27th of October 2020.
The Telkom Netball League is BACK!
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) September 21, 2020
The 2020 TNL will take place at the Mangaung Indoor Sports Complex in Bloemfontein 14-27 October.
READ | https://t.co/kaMK8bGB7f#TNLisBack #TelkomNL | @TelkomZA @PUMASouthAfrica @Twizza_ZA @tsogosun @SuperSportTV @My_SPAR pic.twitter.com/9TOSOa2lIg
Normally the tournament is played across three provinces for a six-week window however due to lockdown and travel restrictions, the event will be hosted in one location and played across two weeks in a bio-bubble.
The launch reached its climax when it was revealed that technical sponsor Puma will for the very first time dress the teams participating at the (TNL) including umpires, technical officials and ball girls. Credit must go to Puma the gears are top class both home and away kits.
The wait is over, our ladies are ready to ball @Netball_SA @TelkomZA #TNLisBack https://t.co/FpXrMisvXm
— PUMA South Africa (@PUMASouthAfrica) September 21, 2020
12 teams will be battling it out this years to the opposed 10 teams we used to witness, Netball SA unveiled two new teams will be in the mix at this year’s competition which are Tornadoes from the Western Cape and the Kingdom Queens from KZN.
“As we have been talking over the years that we want to see the sport grow, this is one way of doing that. The decision to have the two more teams comes as no surprise because if you look at the Western Cape, they have appeared at almost every single final of the tournament, KZN is our biggest province and therefore decided to make sure that we start there,” said the President Ms Molokwane
Mobile operator Telkom who came on board as the headline sponsor in 2019 also announced that they have extended their relationship with Netball South Africa by a further three years and will remain the headline sponsor until 2022. This comes as a huge positive to the federation who will be pleased with the support as Netball SA keeps an eye open for the World Cup in 2023 in Cape Town.
https://twitter.com/Netball_SA/status/1307979331080196096?s=20
According to Netball SA the Under 21 national team will also be playing some exhibition matches at this year’s tournament under the guidance of head coach Dr Elsje Jordaan. The team will use this tournament to get some game time after the Africa qualifiers for the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup in Fiji got cancelled.
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