SA netball is facing an uncertain future

The seemingly endless battle to elevate the status of the sport has required a persistent effort across the board in recent years, and while local officials have done well to improve the standards, the news of a key sponsor withdrawing this week could set South African netball back five years.

In 2014, the launch of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League triggered a new beginning for the sport, and though the success of the local campaign has not been the only factor in the recent rise of the code, it has been key.

The introduction of Norma Plummer as national head coach was a turning point, and the growing number of players competing in professional leagues overseas has been another, but the semi-professional league has been equally crucial in opening new doors.

Aside from giving talented local players a chance to showcase their skills to the Proteas selectors by being given more time on court, the nation’s top players have also been able to earn relatively lucrative prize money.

For the sport, the league has offered a chance for Netball SA to engage more regularly with fans, and with matches being broadcast live on television, the Premier League was a big step forward for the code.

Initially held in Pretoria over a limited period each season, the organisers followed through with promises to expand the annual league campaign when they took it across the country.

The writing was on the wall, however, when they brought it back to the capital city, and despite showing early promise as

Wesley Bo on

Africa’s maiden semi-professional league, the future of the competition is now unclear.

While the results of the Proteas team at international championships has remained stagnant for decades, and their performances have been somewhat inconsistent, there is no doubt the national side has improved in leaps and bounds in recent years.

Guided by Plummer, considered perhaps the best coach in the world, two victories over England and multiple narrow defeats to Australia and New Zealand in the Sanzea Quad Series have offered glimpses of their tremendous potential.

Without a top-flight domestic league, however, the sport will be back where it was when Plummer took over a few years ago, and though she has repeatedly called for the Proteas to be given more time on court, the majority of her players could receive even less game time in this World Cup season.

Netball has the potential to be one of the most popular sports in the country, both in terms of participation and interest, but while football, rugby and cricket players are able to keep fans interested with regular competitions throughout the year, netball players in South Africa are given brief, irregular opportunities to flaunt their ability.

The Proteas compete in no more than a few short tours each season, and though interest rockets when they’re competing, they vanish into lengthy, quiet breaks of obscurity for months on end.

It may not have offered all the answers, but the Premier League gave local netball a massive boost, ticking many of the boxes which administrators had been struggling to fill.

And while the Proteas still have a loyal sponsor in Spar, the decision by Brutal Fruit not to extend its support of the top-flight league has dealt the sport a potentially crushing blow.

The SA Breweries brand did well to give the sport a boost, but if further corporate support isn’t secured soon, many years of hard work in promoting netball will be lost.

And that would be a real shame.