SA netball players are expected to enter the bio-bubble for the seventh edition of the Telkom Netball League tomorrow.

All 13 teams will report to camp from tomorrow and leave the bubble after the conclusion of the competition on October 27.  

The players, managers, coaches and umpires will undergo Covid-19 tests before they enter the bubble for the league campaign set for October 13-27 at the Indoor Sports Centre in Mangaung, Free State. 

Spar Proteas captain and Golden Fireballs star, Bongiwe Msomi, said the teams leave for the City of Roses today. The 32-year-old has played 117 matches for the Proteas.  She is going into the tournament with vast experience, having played overseas in the past four years.

Msomi last played in SA in the Brutal Netball League in 2016 for KwaZulu-Natal's Kingdom Stars. The exciting wing attack spent her 2019 playing in England, and she can’t wait to play the game on home soil again.

“I have learned a lot from my time playing abroad. I have learned how to handle myself and to compete with some of the best players overseas. But now I want to end my career at home, and I hope to inspire the youngsters,” Msomi said.  

The teams playing in the league are Aloes (Eastern Cape), Crinums (Free State), Golden fireballs (Gauteng), Spar Baby Proteas, King Down Queens, Kings Stars (KZN), Baobabs (Limpopo), Sunbirds (Mpumalanga), Diamonds (Northern Cape), Flames (North West), Southern Stings, Tornadoes (Western Cape) and Jaguars (Gauteng). The Jaguars enter the league as defending champions, but Msomi says that for the first time there are no favourites because of the six months of lockdown.

"Teams did not train together to test their combinations, tactical awareness, and on and off the ball situations. We only trained together at 40%. I think it will be an open tournament, and whoever wants it most will win,” she said.