Unbeaten SPAR Baby Proteas brace for Cook Islands in Netball World Youth Cup quarterfinal

The SPAR Baby Proteas remain unbeaten at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup.

They dominated Fiji 86–35 in their final Pool D match.

The two nations met for the fourth time, and South Africa is yet to taste defeat against the Pacific Islanders.

SPAR Proteas head coach Precious Mthembu’s charges plan to carry their winning streak into the quarterfinals on Thursday, where they come up against the Cook Islands for a place in the semi-finals.

"I am very pleased with the team’s performance today and getting a win against a strong opposition like Fiji," said a delighted Mthembu. "The results set us up nicely for the quarterfinal match against Cook Islands. We now must shift our attention and focus on that match. Fortunately for us, we had a practice match against them when we got here, so we have a better understanding of what to expect tomorrow."

South Africa has never reached the last four of the global showpiece.

South Africa’s highest finish at the Netball World Youth Cup is fifth, and Mthembu and her charges have set their eyes on improving that and doing better in this year’s edition.

The South Africa versus Cook Islands game will start at 19:00 CAT on Thursday, September 25, 2025, and will be streamed live on Netball Pass and the Netball World Cup YouTube channel.