Following the announcement of the South African National Netball Team by SASCOC on Wednesday night at the Olympic House in Johannesburg, Netball South Africa has confirmed that the Ugandan netball national team will face the SA netball team as preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Games to be staged in Glasgow next month.
“Preparation is very vital if we are to do well at the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The last time the team was together was as early as February this year, and I believe that the warm-up matches against Uganda will really do us good as we prepare ourselves for competition.
"As a team, we couldn’t have asked for a better opponent that Uganda. We have faced them a few times in recent years including the last Commonwealth Games and they proved to be a tough opponent," said Jenny van Dyk, the South Africa netball team head coach.
The Ugandan national team are set to arrive in South Africa as early as 12 July 2026. The two nations will meet and play three matches behind closed doors before heading out to Glasgow.
“The decision to invite Uganda to play against us was taken after careful consideration of a myriad of factors. We want(ed) to give our team all the much-needed support and make sure that they are well prepared and ready to do well in Glasgow. Uganda has really been a tough opponent to play against – we lost to them at the last CWG and at the 2023 Netball World Cup, they are ranked second in the continent and sixth in the world.
"This really paints a perfect picture of how tough they are. For you to be the best, you will need to play against tougher opponents, and we believe that Uganda gives us exactly that,” said Mami Diale, Netball South Africa President.
The South Africa netball team will assemble in Johannesburg on 10 July to prepare for the three-match series against Uganda before leaving with the rest of the Team South Africa contingent.
The chosen players are: Khanyisa Chawane; Kamogelo Maseko; Tarle Mathe; Owethu Ngubane; Refiloe Nketsa; Karla Pretorius; Nicola Smith; Rolene Streutker; Elmere van der Berg; Jamie Golob; Karla Victor and Sanmarie Visser.