NSA on ropes, but not yet out
Wesley Bo on
While the national federation has lost a lucrative deal, leaving a cloud of doubt hanging over the future of Africa’s only semi-professional netball league, Netball South Africa (NSA) hopes its 2023 World Cup bid will reignite interest.
South African Breweries did not extend its sponsorship of the Brutal Fruit Premier League (NPL), NSA confirmed yesterday. It had supported the top-flight domestic campaign since its launch in 2014.
“This is a big blow to the country as the NPL provided the perfect platform between club/ varsity players and the Spar Proteas, and can be credited for the massive strides the national team have been making on the international stage,” NSA said.
It insisted it was “working tirelessly” to ensure the league campaign went ahead this year.
The national body also insisted the future looked bright for the sport, provided SA got the nod ahead of New Zealand to host the quadrennial World Cup in 2023.
The host nation was expected to be announced by the International Netball Federation (INF) within the next two months.
“Hosting the World Cup would enable us to attract new sponsors, allowing for a strong financial future for [local] netball,” said NSA president Cecilia Molokwane (above), who is confident about the Cape Town bid.
“It would enable NSA to develop a fully professional structure, allowing players to pursue a career in netball, and would provide a platform for netball and women to receive the same level of exposure as men’s sports.
“As the top-ranked team in Africa, we want Netball World Cup 2023 to inspire and enable other African countries to grow and develop the sport.”
New Zealand has hosted three of the previous 14 World Cups. No African country has hosted the showpiece, despite SA and Malawi being consistently ranked among the top six teams in the world.
The World Cup could offer a boost of more than R2 billion to the economy and attract more than 120 000 visitors to SA.
Netball World Cup 2023 would enable NSA to develop a fully professional structure.
Cecilia Molokwane, Netball SA president