THE International Netball Federation (INF) has announced it would host the 16th Netball World Cup (NWC) in South Africa in 2023.
The World Cup will for the first time ever be staged in Cape Town’s International Convention Centre.
INF president Molly Rhone said: “On behalf of the board of the International Netball Federation, I am delighted to announce that Netball South Africa has been awarded the rights to host the 2023 Netball World Cup.
“We were delighted to receive two exceptional bids, and the INF board was satisfied that both Netball New Zealand and Netball South Africa would be capable of hosting a successful and thrilling NWC 2023.
“The INF board decided the significant investment the South African government and Western Cape were prepared to make over the next four years in netball facilities and coaching programmes in South Africa, the African continent and beyond, would deliver a greater impact on the development of global netball.
“It is an exciting time for netball right now. Our sport is growing in popularity at an unprecedented rate throughout the world. There is increasing competitiveness between the top nations, and now three teams from Africa feature in the top 10 of the INF world rankings. We look forward to working with the organising committee to bring the INF’s most important event to South Africa in 2023.”
CEO of Netball South Africa Blanche de la Guerre said: “Hosting this World Cup will see more young girls participating in the sport, especially young girls from the working class background. It will also play a major role in contributing to social cohesion and nation building because that is what sport is all about. “During this event, we will wish all men to rally behind the sport and assist us with eradicating violence against woman and children. We also hope this Netball World Cup will demonstrate to all men that we as women have a purpose in life, and hopefully the violence against women can come to an end.
“We take this opportunity to thank INF for giving us the opportunity to host the 2023 INF Netball World Cup.”
Sports and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) director-general Mokoditloa Eliakim ‘Alec’ Moemi said: “This exciting news for netball in South Africa will allow the government and its bid partners to develop and promote the sport not only in the Western Cape, but throughout South Africa and Africa. What clinched the bid is that South Africa is committed to a legacy which would enable netball to grow in leaps and bounds in the Western Cape, South Africa and Africa and award so many young girls the opportunity of playing the game in the future.”
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith said: “Cape Town and Western Cape is delighted o have been named as hosts of this major sporting showcase. Our city has proved time and time again to deliver on hosting major events, and was named in December, after a few successive awards in the past few years, the world’s leading festival and events destination. It’s time now for Cape Town, time for South Africa, time for Africa and time for netball.”
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