Vitality Roses to face Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa in a new international competition in 2020
The Vitality Roses; England’s elite netball team, will play in front of a home crowd in January 2020 for the first time since the Vitality Netball World Cup as part of a new international series.
The Vitality Netball Nations Cup will see the Vitality Roses battle against the Jamaica Sunshine Girls, the New Zealand Silver Ferns and the South Africa SPAR Proteas across four days of action in three cities.
The Vitality Netball Nations Cup kicks off at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham on 19 January, which will be the first time since 2011 that an international netball competition has come to the city. The competition will start with England playing newly crowned World Champions New Zealand and Jamaica facing South Africa in what promises to be an exciting start to the series.
The action will then move to Arena Birmingham for another double header on 22 January and will conclude at the Copper Box Arena in London for the final two days of the competition on 25 and 26 January.
Jess Thirlby, the Vitality Roses Head Coach, said: “This is going to be an extremely exciting event; competition is higher than ever and teams are out to prove themselves following the incredible exposure of the World Cup. Not only will we be gaining a valuable opportunity to face some of the world’s best teams, we will also be competing in a completely brand new international competition.
“It is also the first time that the Roses will compete on home soil since the Vitality Netball World Cup and the first time we will be taking netball to three different cities in one series. There’s so much to look forward to and we’re really excited to see all the Roses fans back out in force.”
The series is the latest iteration in Vitality’s commitment to inspiring more people to participate in netball. Earlier this year Vitality; England Netball’s title partner, pledged to provide funding for one person to obtain a UKCC Level 1 Assistant Qualification Coaching Certificate through England Netball for every one 100 goals scored during the Vitality Netball World Cup.
Pre-sale tickets for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup will be available for England Netball members to purchase from 19 September. General ticket sale will then go live on 26 September on the England Netball website.
The Vitality Roses will be in action on the following dates:
Sunday 19 January 2020 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
England v New Zealand
Jamaica v South Africa
Wednesday 22 January 2020 – Arena Birmingham
England v South Africa
Jamaica v New Zealand
Saturday 25 January 2020 – Copper Box Arena, London
England v Jamaica
New Zealand v South Africa
Sunday 26 January 2020 – Copper Box Arena, London
1st v 2nd place match
3rd v 4th place match
You can also follow all of the action live via the England Netball Twitter account and on Sky Sports.
Australia have decided not to participate in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup to allow their athletes to have time away from the game after completing an intense four-year cycle.
The northern edition of the Netball Quad Series, as part of the Vitality Netball International Series, will return to the UK in January 2021.
Courtesy of England Netball
