On Tuesday, 22 June 2021, American sports agency, Roc Nation Sports, announced Bongiwe Msomi as one of the South African sports stars to join their global network of mentees and ambassadors. Msomi is a University of Johannesburg (UJ) netball club manager and coach and the captain of the national netball team, the SPAR Proteas.
She is the third national team captain in South Africa to join Roc Nation Sports after Siya Kolisi (rugby) and Temba Bavuma (cricket).
Since bursting into professional sports, Msomi is the highest capped South African national netball player with 126 caps.
Msomi comes from Hammarsdale, a small town 50km away from Durban. She cemented herself as a player in 2009 when she captained the Under21 national side before joining the senior team in 2011. She has been the captain of the SPAR Proteas since 2016.
Roc Nation Sports, a sub-division of Roc Nation, launched in spring 2013. It was established by business mogul and legendary rapper Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter. Roc Nation Sports supports athletes in the same way Roc Nation has been working alongside and advocating for artists in the music industry for years.
According to the agency’s website, “Roc Nation Sports focuses on elevating athletes’ careers on a global scale both on and off the field.”
Some of their international signings include elite sports personalities in various sports codes. They include athletes such as Robinson Cano, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kyrie Irving, Kevin De Bruyne, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, CC Sabathia, Saquon Barkley, Dez Bryant, Leonard Fournette, Danny Green, Juju Smith-Schuster, Todd Gurley, Justise Winslow, LaMelo Ball, Jaire Alexander, Ronnie Stanley, and Michael Vick.
Msomi has played in various international competitions. Some of her achievements in netball include:
- Representing South Africa (126 Caps, as from March 2021)
- 2021 Tri-Nations Challenge (Uganda, Namibia, Spar Proteas) – Captain SPAR Proteas Netball Team (Best Mid-Court Player)
- 2019 – Ministerial Award at Momentum GSport Awards
- 2016/17/18/19/20/21 – Captain SPAR Proteas Netball Team
- 2015/17/18/19 – KZN Sport women of the year
- 2013/14/15 – Vice-Captain SPAR Proteas Netball Team
- 2011, 2012 – Selected for SP AR Proteas Netball Team
- 2009 – Captain of U21 National Netball Team
- Suncorp Netball Super League 2018 – Adelaide Thunderbirds
- Vitality Netball Super League in England
- 2015 Champions – Surrey Storm
- 2017 Champions – Wasps Netball
- 2019 Runner up – Wasps
- 2019 Netball world cup – Finished 4th
- Represented South Africa at the Netball World Cup in (2011 & 2015 & 2019)
- Represented South Africa in the Commonwealth Games (2014 & 2018)
Related:
Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi appointed as head coach of UJ Netball
