Contracting players is a breakthrough move for SA netball

In recent years, Netball South Africa has done well to shift the sport from a purely amateur environment to a semi-professional structure, and their latest move is a massive step forward in carrying netball into a new fully-fledged professional era.

For the first time this week, NSA announced it had offered national contracts to 24 players, giving members of the Proteas squad an opportunity to focus more time on the game.

While it is clearly attractive to sports-mad South Africans, netball has been on the back foot in comparison to other codes, and this latest decision is not only an important move ahead of next year’s World Cup in Cape Town, it is also a massive step forward for women’s sport in SA.

We’ve already seen the benefits of supporting elite women athletes in the significant improvements which have been made by the Proteas cricket team since they started receiving contracts.

And now that netball players will receive regular financial support, we can expect to see a similar improvement in the national team, who have been hovering at No 5 in the world rankings for far too long and have struggled to punch above their weight against professional sides.

By paying the players salaries, it gives them a chance to concentrate on the sport rather than having to juggle full-time jobs (as many of them do) with their sporting ambitions.

Previously, while there has been a semi-professional league in SA for some time, if players wanted to turn professional, they had to sign with international leagues in Australia, New Zealand and England.

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Of the 24 players who have received national contracts, however, only seven are based overseas, and the other 17 will now be supported without having to spread their wings abroad.

It is the norm for men in team sports to have opportunities to turn professional, and it’s refreshing to see that federations, sponsors, stakeholders and sport fans are starting to offer elite women the same respect.

Contracting players won’t turn the Proteas into world beaters overnight, but it’s a decision which will have many long-term benefits and will motivate talented young players to consider potential careers as netballers.

And though we might have to wait some time to see the results, there is no doubt that NSA has turned a corner, and after years of trying to change the status of the sport, the federation is clearly on the right track.