Team Jamaica touched down in Cape Town, South Africa on July 17 with one goal in mind – claiming the title at the 2023 Netball World Cup.

The Sunshine Girls, the world number four ranked netball team arrived late Monday evening at the Southern Sun, Sun Square City Bowl Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa ahead of the Netball World Cup 2023.

The island nation with a population of around 3 million has produced some remarkable results over the years, including being one of the few sides in the world to have beaten 11-time Netball World Cup champions, Australia.

The Sunshine Girls most recent success was at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, where they got the better of the Aussie Diamonds in the group stage before losing out to the same side in the final with Jamaica getting a first Commonwealth Games silver.

Preparing for the task ahead

Head coach Connie Francis, who competed in an incredible five Netball World Cups as a player commented, “we expect the World Cup to be harder than the Commonwealth Games last year and so we have been planning our training sessions around ensuring the ladies are better prepared for the task ahead.” She quoted a well-known Jamaican phrase, which sums up the mood in camp – “Wi likkle but wi tallawah.”

The meaning: We may be small but we are mighty.

Referring to beating Australia, coach Francis remarked,” [They have been] a powerhouse in netball from the outset of World Netball where they have been dominant over these 60 years. But they have chinks in their armour, and we have broken that dominance from as far back as 1985, so we do have that history to understand that we can, if we put our shoulders to the wheel. They are beatable.”

According to Francis, “we have certainly proved that, and if we intend to be victorious, we are not resting on our laurels… We have also put in the work to be prepared, and we have the mental fortitude – the belief that says we will do it. And we must do it if we want to become number one.”

Jamaica Netball World Cup experience

Jamaica have played at every Netball World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1963 and have claimed three bronze medals – in 1991, 2003 (as hosts) and 2007. At the last tournament in 2019, the Sunshine Girls were beaten by South Africa in the pool stage, eventually finishing in fifth place.

Jamaica, the world number four ranked netball team have once again been drawn in the same pool as the SPAR Proteas with the two scheduled to go head-to-head on July 30. South Africa is one of the top five countries in the world and have been and they always will be a threat to the aspirations of the Sunshine Girls.

The other teams in Pool C are Wales and Sri Lanka. The Sunshine Girls take on the Sri Lankans on July 28, before facing the Welsh Feathers a day later.

The Sunshine Girls are upbeat and looking forward to showcasing their talents in this great nation.