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 January 19, 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 January 22 and will conclude at the Copper Box Arena in London for the final two days of the competition on January 25 – 26.

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.