Cape Town named as 2023 International Netball Federation World Cup host

Cape Town was officially announced as the host city for the 2023 International Netball Federation (INF) World Cup at a press conference on the foreshore on Thursday, 7 March 2019.

The Mother City was one of only two bids left in the running at the final stage; with Auckland, New Zealand the other contender. The announcement was broadcast on live television around the globe, with Auckland also hosting a simultaneous press conference despite the 11-hour time difference.

Tokozile Xasa, national Minister of Sport and Recreation, predicted that hosting the World Cup would make a major impact on South Africa. “We will continue to support netball, because since 2012 when we selected Netball South Africa as the federation of the year our country has enabled Netball SA to stage both the Diamond League and the Netball Premier League tournaments,” Minister Xasa said. 

“Hosting this Netball World Cup in 2023 is also a catalyst to further spread netball into all communities of South Africa and further provide a foundation for increasing growth of this sport in Africa and not just South Africa. Hosting this netball World Cup will allow more girls in this country to participate in sport because we believe is not only presents itself for social cohesion, it also has a business side to it.” 

Auckland had previously hosted the tournament in 1975 and 2007; with Christchurch, New Zealand having hosted in 1999.  It was considered to be a strong contender again, but INF president, Molly Rhone, instead announced that Cape Town would become the first African city to host the showpiece event.

Anroux Marais, Western Cape Minister of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, said the provincial government had already begun investing in netball.  

“We have been working around the clock to better prepare ourselves for the 2023 Netball World Cup. In addition to the bidding team’s effort to submit the winning bid, our department has increased the number of netball facilities in the province,” said Minister Marais. 

“Since December 2018 we have officially handed over new netball courts in three towns as part of the 2023 Netball World Cup Legacy Programme. Mossel Bay, George and Malmesbury received netball courts in February. I take this opportunity to thank the INF bid evaluation committee for their favourable consideration, the bidding team for the many sacrifices made to secure us the right to be the host country and the South African delegation. We look forward to hosting the next Netball World Cup in 2023 at which participants and spectators both local and international have the opportunity to experience the splendour of the mother city and the greater western Cape.”

Netball is currently the second biggest team sport in South Africa and the biggest female sport by a significant margin, with over six million players nationwide. 

Cecilia Molokwane, president of Netball South Africa, said: “I would like to thank the Western Cape Government. When we came to you and said ‘we want to do this but we don’t have a city that can host it’, the Western Cape Government opened up their arms. They never said ‘Its netball, it’s nothing. We want rugby, we want cricket, we want football’. They said ‘it’s the biggest female federation in the country and the second biggest federation in the country’. We would like to thank you for your support.”

The tournament will take place over ten days, with a total of 20 teams taking part. All games will be played in Cape Town