NETBALL South Africa’s (NSA) decision to change the reward for claiming the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League title from a cash prize to a trip to New Zealand will be to Mzansi’s benefit.
NSA president Mimi Mthethwa-Zulu said they wished to build a stronger relationship with Sanzea countries New Zealand, England and Australia and also to learn from these countries.
SA’s Karla Mostert, Bongiwe Msomi, Lenize Potgieter and Erin Burger all play overseas in different leagues.
This year’s domestic league kicks off on Friday at the Durban University of Technology and will run until 11 June.
Bloemfontein and Cape Town will also host matches.
Said Mthethwa-Zulu: “These are the countries we play against in the quad series. We’ve been talking to them about the avenues available to our players. In our discussions it emerged that they have a league where they can accommodate the winners of our league.
“They said if we were willing, we could bring the winners over – there was no way we could say no.”
The runners-up will walk away with a whopping R150 000.
With the Free State Crinums having won the domestic league three times in a row, Mthethwa-Zulu reckons the competition will be a lot more exciting with all the teams hoping to bag the all-expenses-paid trip.
She added that taking the tournament to two new cities would also encourage other provinces to partner with their municipalities to present it in their backyards.
“It makes it exciting for all 10 our teams because it’s anyone’s game this year. Players have moved around and some teams are giving younger players an opportunity. This is exciting for everybody,” she said.
In the last three seasons the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League was often judged to be offside when players went for months without getting paid.
Sponsorship marketing manager, Kudzi Matharibe has pledged to see to it that players get paid for their participation on a weekly basis.
Said Matharibe: “The players will get their weekly participation fee of R750 to further motivate them but also to show our support and commitment to them.”
This year the league will also offer 22 players educational bursaries.