Spar Baby Proteas claimed bragging rights and affirmed African supremacy with a 64–33 win over Malawi in their third 2025 Netball World Youth Cup group match, at the Tercentury Sports Hall & Europa Sports Complex in Gibraltar, Europe, on Tuesday, 23 September 2025.
With Malawi and the Baby Proteas as the only two African teams in the tournament, a battle for continental supremacy was the order of the day when the two nations met.
Both teams came into the match with two wins respectively, and it was South Africa who had a superior goal difference.
“Tough game against Malawi, we were very untidy, and we were terribly slow. We struggled to get into our own rhythm – this is something that we expected against a physical Malawi side.”
Spar Baby Proteas Head Coach, Precious Mthembu
“They interrupted our structure on court, and we took too long to settle,” said Mthembu. “Eventually, we got to it, the team showed up and managed to get a win.”
Unlike the other two nations that the South Africans had played, Malawi was quite physical; however, this did not derail SA, who challenged for every ball and stood their ground – at the end of the quarter, the Baby Proteas enjoyed a 16-9 lead.
Malawi came back stronger in the second quarter and limited South Africa’s movements, forcing them to play long passes to the advantage of Malawi.
The second quarter was fiercely contested with the Baby Proteas narrowly winning it 13-10, taking the overall score to 29-19 in favour of South Africa.
The Baby Proteas came into the second half a rejuvenated team and quickly got off the starting blocks to ensure that they extended their lead in the match
Malawi wasn’t about to sit back and take it, and they punched back as good as they got, but it was the South Africa who took the championship quarter 15-12 after 15 minutes of play, to move the score to 44-27 in their favour.
The South Africans closed the match out in style, easing to the 66-33 win with a 14-point advantage in the final quarters. South Africa’s final Pool D match will be against Fiji on Wednesday, at 19:00 (CAT).
Pool D Fixtures and Results at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup
Sat 20 Sept: South Africa 102-27 Barbados
Mon 22 Sept: South Africa 105-15 Trinidad & Tobago
Tue 23 Sept: South Africa 64-33 Malawi
Wed 25 Sept – 19h00: South Africa vs Fiji
South Africa 64-33 Malawi Quarter Score Breakdown
Q1 – South Africa 16 – 9 Malawi
Q2 – South Africa 29 – 19 Malawi
Q3 – South Africa 44 – 27 Malawi
Q4 – South Africa 64 – 33 Malawi
South Africa Starting XII
GS – Mbali Diphoko
GA – Luané Smith
WA – Karla Victor
C – Kyla Dames
WD – Phophi Nematangari (c)
GD – Zahrah Noah
GK – Ametisse Bandu
Substitutes
Renezia Andrews
Luca Keun
Bianca Lubbe
Giada Prinsloo
Kiara van Eeden
Original Copy: Netball South Africa, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: The Spar Baby Proteas have put themselves into Pool D’s pole position with the key win over African arch-rivals Malawi on Tuesday, setting themselves up to lead Pool D with a win in their final group stage match against Fiji on Wednesday, 24 September 2025. All Photos: World Netball and Netball World Cup
Photo 2 Caption: The versatile skipper Phophi Nematangari playing as Goal Shooter, pictured leading her team from the front.
Photo 3 Caption: Coach Mthembu: “Tough game against Malawi – this is something that we expected against a physical Malawi side.”
