South Africa will host the Netball World Cup in 2023, with the tournament set to take place in Cape Town.
This is the first time the Netball World Cup will be held in Africa.
2023 Netball World Cup to be hosted by Cape Town pic.twitter.com/rKVu0lCkYj
— Craig Marais (@CraigMaraisCTN) March 7, 2019
International Netball Federation president Molly Rhone said: ‘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 Netball World Cup 2023.
‘The INF board decided that the significant investment that 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.’
. @Netball_SA president Cecilia Molokwane on winning the bid to host 2023 Netball World Cup.#handsup2023 pic.twitter.com/rZIK1jboSU
— PowerSport (@Power987Sport) March 7, 2019
The City of Cape Town said: ‘Having developed a strong track record as the world’s leading festival and event destination, Cape Town is best placed to make the Netball World Cup a spectacular showpiece – the same way we successfully hosted the Fifa World Cup in 2010.
‘Being chosen as the host city for this global spectacle underscores the city’s status as an events capital.
‘Apart from the direct economic impact through visitor and organiser spend, there is also the ripple effect of job creation during and after events, and the increased spend at our world-famous attractions.
‘Securing the Netball World Cup will also aid the country in promoting women’s sports and raising the profile of netball as a key sport.
‘We would like to thank our inter-governmental partners for the support along the way.
‘The real work starts now. We are looking forward to continuing our working relationship with Netball South Africa, as well as national and provincial government, to stage the best Netball World Cup ever.’