South Africa in bid to host 2023 Netball World Cup

NETBALL South Africa are bidding to host the 2023 World Cup in what would be an historic first for the sport in South Africa and on the continent.

Four-times world champions, New Zealand, are also bidding to host the World Cup for a fourth time.

The 2023 World Cup bid projections estimate 120 000 additional visitors to the South African host city because of the World Cup, which translates to a financial injection in excess of R2.5 billion to South Africa’s economy.

The 16-team World Cup is hosted in one city, with the tournament not exceeding 10 playing days. It features 60 matches, broadcast live.

Cape Town, because of its international tourism status, has been identified as a prime host city option, but NSA chief executive Blanche de la Guerre said the bid team was in discussions with representatives of all SA’s major cities.

“It’s a bid that has got so much potential that extends beyond the sport because it is one that speaks to South Africa and by extension Africa, where netball has a massive participation and audience following. It speaks to the excellence in women’s sport,” said De la Guerre

“We had discussions with all the provinces to explain the bid. We had to be sure the appetite from the potential host city candidates matched ours to host a World Cup because without the city, provincial and government support it would be impossible to host the sport’s biggest event.”

South Africa’s national team, the Proteas, in 2018 consolidated their fifthplace world ranking.

The World Cup bids have to officially been handed in at the end of June and the winning country will be announced in April 2019.