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Mthembu’s young guns ready for world stage test

football18 September 2025 20:00
By:Busisiwe Mokwena
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Karla Victor © Gallo Images

Karla Victor says it will be important for the Spar Baby Proteas to first conquer the pool stages before they can think of how they will finish at the Netball World Youth Cup.

South Africa will begin their campaign against Barbados on Saturday.

The junior national team has been drawn against the Baby Gems, Malawi, Fiji, and Trinidad and Tobago in Pool D of the global competition, which runs from 19 to 28 September in Gibraltar.

This year’s tournament features 20 teams, with Africa represented by South Africa, Zambia, and the Young Queens of Malawi.

Five teams automatically qualified, including New Zealand, Australia, England, and the Baby Pearls after finishing in the top four in the last edition, while Gibraltar qualified as host.

The remaining 15 teams competed in the Regional Qualifiers in 2024.

The centre court player says it will be important to start strong and hopefully go top of the pool and take it from there.

“Our first goal is to be first in our pool, then after that, the tournament starts again. We have a nice pool, but we can’t underestimate any team we play against because I think they might come strong and hard. I feel like we have the best chance to go first in our pool. The tournament starts from scratch in the playoffs, and after that, I feel like we can make the semis and hopefully, we can get to the finals,” says Victor.

South Africa have not finished on the podium in the junior World Cup before.

The national junior team finished in sixth place in the 2017 edition held in Botswana.

The competition returns after the 2021 edition was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although their immediate goal is to conquer the group stages of the tournament, Victor shares that the podium is a goal for the 2025 generation of players.

“I have high standards for our team. I think everyone, as well as the coaches, wants to win gold at the World Cup. That is what we are working towards. We need to get the communication and combinations going well, having video analysis of the other players will also be very important. We need to toughen up and take the punches, we’re the underdogs, and usually underdogs are the ones that get the gold,” she says.

VALUABLE PREPARATIONS

The Precious Mthembu-led side started their preparations for the World Cup with a 3-0 whitewash of Jamaica during the Margaret Beckford Sunshine Series in January.

This was followed by a handful of training camps, including taking part in the two legs of the Telkom Netball League.

Mthembu and her charges wrapped up their preparations in the United Kingdom, where they played two matches against Hertfordshire University, which consisted of both male and female players, and England Under-21.

They also played the Cook Islands Under-21 in their last training match before the competition started.

“Our preparation phase has been incredibly valuable. The training matches in the UK tested us against different playing styles and gave us the chance to fine-tune our combinations under pressure. The trip to Gibraltar has brought the team even closer together. The players have shown great resilience, unity, and hunger to perform. We feel confident in the work we’ve put in and are excited to represent South Africa with pride at the World Cup. We had tough training sessions, including two practice matches. We played against Hertfordshire University and won 62-54, and played England Under-21 and lost 27-47. Our aim is to get into the top two of the pool and improve from there,” says Mthembu.

This is Mthembu’s first big competition as the head coach of the Baby Proteas. Although she led the team during the Africa Regional Qualifiers, South Africa achieved a 100 per cent winning record.

The former wing defence star says she feels honoured to lead the team at such a big stage.

“It is humbling, I am honoured to get this opportunity. I have seen the support I have at home, allowing me to take this journey. I am one of the youngest coaches at this level, and I want to take every opportunity, knowledge and lessons in the coaching platform. It is an opportunity for me to lead this team, a new generation, teaching them everything I have been taught. Having a great partner like Phumza (Maweni), we really feel responsible for making sure we give back and inspire the players to go back home as different players with their full potential. I am proud to guide these young ladies on such an incredible platform,” she says.

Victor, who took part in her first TNL season while a high school pupil, shares the excitement of being able to gauge herself against her peers from other countries across the world.

She was part of the team that took the silver medal in the 2023 edition of the TNL in her debut year and won the gold in 2024.

“I would love to compare myself with the international girls to see how I am against them. I am excited that I will be playing against the likes of England and New Zealand. I am looking forward to that,” she explains.

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