Netball deserves better, but this time the sport has itself to blame

Netball in this country has never received its due, and it has always deserved better.

It’s a great sport, which combines the natural flair of football with the battle-hardened ferocity of rugby, and matches can be as thrilling as they are in any other code.

In addition, in terms of participation, netball is the most popular sport in the country.

While many schools focus on either football or rugby, nearly every school with a sport programme offers netball and just about every girl in South Africa, at some stage in their youth, has played the game.

From a promotional perspective, the sport’s leaders have done nothing wrong either, and netball has more loyal sponsors than most other codes.

Trying to emerge in the wake of an amateur era which simply didn’t respect women’s sport, however, netball now has to wade through the local landscape in an attempt to close the gap on traditional men’s codes, and with the Proteas competing only a few times a year, the sport remains stranded.

Nevertheless, while popular sports like football, cricket and rugby are slowly developing the women’s divisions in their respective codes, netball is in a unique position as it has no real opposition from the men’s game, creating an opportunity to promote women’s sport in a very direct market.

For all the troubles they’ve faced for recognition in a new, evolving era, however, NSA has always made the effort, and the sport’s slow progress cannot be blamed on a lack of trying.

Uncharacteristically, over the last couple of weeks, the federation has floundered.

While NSA president Cecilia Molokwane made a fair point this week – when the federation finally reacted to the controversy around the Sundbirds missing out on the Telkom Netball League final as they had no white players in the team – by stating that any changes to the netball body’s transformation policy would need to be made by the members council.

But NSA’s defensive approach, with the organisation claiming it was not enforcing quotas despite punishing teams which did not comply with “targets”, missed the mark entirely.

We heard how netball was just trying to be fair to the players and how the attacks against the sport were unfounded.

What we didn’t hear was whether NSA was actually going to reassess its bizarre policy, which is a quota system, no matter how much the federation doesn’t want to admit it.

Netball has always struggled more than it should, but its public image has taken a big knock in recent weeks, and it is NSA’s own fault.

And this time, it’s the players who deserve better.

Wesley Botton.

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