Progress made as 2023 Netball World Cup committee is named

Though he admits they have got off to a relatively sluggish start, sports minister Nathi Mthethwa insists government and Netball South Africa are on track to host the first Netball World Cup in Africa after unveiling the six-member organising committee for the 2023 showpiece.

While the pre-planning stages of the event had been overseen by an interim steering committee, Mthethwa confirmed on Tuesday that the official board would now take control.

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The independent committee would be led by chairperson Patience Shikwambana, the chief operations officer of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).

“This announcement is long overdue, but we are pleased this day has finally arrived,” Mthethwa said.

Mthethwa said infrastructure projects and legacy programmes were already being rolled out, but there was still plenty of work to do to prepare Cape Town to host the quadrennial 16-team tournament.

Sports minister Nathi Mthethwa. Picture: Gallo Images

Faced with the task of delivering the event, Shikwambana was joined on the board by Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane, NSA chief operations officer Blanch de la Guerre, Sport and Recreation SA deputy director general Sumayya Khan, City of Cape Town mayoral committee member JP Smith and Lyndon Bouah of the Western Cape Department of Sport.

With the nation having successfully hosted the Rugby World Cup (1995), Cricket World Cup (2003) and Fifa World Cup (2010) tournaments, Shikwambana said they were eager to ensure South Africa delivered another world-class event.

“We have a formidable team,” Shikwambana said.

“We understand what is required from us for the job at hand and we are confident we will not let the country down.”

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