New professional domestic women’s cricket league big step in women’s sport

The Western Cape Government welcomes the announcement of a new professional domestic women’s cricket league by Cricket South Africa on Tuesday. 
 
This new league will see six domestic teams competing in one day and T20 competitions, with more permanent contracts being awarded to players and coaching staff. 
 
After the successful hosting of the 2023 T20 Women’s Cricket World Cup in South Africa, this new league and improved payment for women’s teams is a good step in the right direction of professionalizing women’s sport in our country. We have seen tremendous support for our women’s teams in the recent Netball and FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments and it is clear that we must continue fighting for equal access and payment for our female athletes.
 
Amidst calls for South Africa to bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, now is the time to invest in our domestic structures and to ensure that we can support our young girls in their dreams to follow in the footsteps of their sporting heroes.
 
Minister Anroux Marais said: “It is heartening to see that Cricket South Africa is investing in our women’s teams and that we are moving to equal payment for all players. We need to continue working towards equal opportunities in all sporting codes. The Western Cape has shown that we are ready and able to host these large sporting events and we have seen that women’s events attract large numbers of spectators from across the world.”
 
The provincial government will continue to bid and aim host large sporting events in the Western Cape. These sporting events are not only major contributors to the local economy but they are key to bringing more tourism to our shores and help to create jobs.