WHILE the South African national players brace themselves for tonight’s opening game of the Netball World Cup, Cape Town has grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons after members of the Jamaican team allegedly fell victim to thieves in Cape Town earlier this week.
Taking to social media, the captain of the Sunshine Girls, Jihanele Fowler, posted that she had been robbed as she questioned the safety of the Mother City.
“This is so unfortunate,’ she stated ahead of the team’s opening encounter against Sri Lanka today. ‘This place isn’t safe.”
“First they stole money from my purse now people trying to come in on us in our rooms. Really!!!!’’
In the run-up to the competition, Fowler was seen encouraging local kids to play netball, helping the Western Cape’s sports industry grow.
Reacting to her captain’s post, Jamaican teammate Shamera Sterling suggested that she was ready to leave South Africa before the tournament had even commenced.
“Seems like we are staying on the streets,” Sterling said.
“We aren’t safe. I’m ready to go home.”
The World Cup tournament, which is being held in Africa for the first time, has Jamaica and South Africa in the same group for the first round.
The 10-day quadrennial showpiece will feature competition between 16 teams.
All matches will be played at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Meanwhile, the opening ceremony takes place today (28 July) at 4 pm.
There will also be four games on the court today:
9 am: New Zealand v Trinidad and Tobago
11 am: Australia v Zimbabwe
6 pm: South Africa v Wales
8 pm: England v Barbados
The games begin from July 28 to August 6.
Image (Ready to hit the court and show the world what the Protea team has to offer).
