South Africa will host the Netball World Cup in 2023 – what you need to know

There are just over 200 days left until the 16th edition of the Netball World Cup starts  in Cape Town in July next year. The 2023 Netball World Cup will be the first time the tournament has been hosted on African soil since its inception 1963.

Forty-one countries from five World Netball regions – Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania – have participated in the last 15 editions of the competition, but only three countries – Australia, New Zealand, and Trinidad and Tobago – have won a Netball World Cup. 

Australia has been dominant, winning 11 of the 15 world cup tournaments to date. Trinidad and Tobago’s one win was the result of a three-way tie between itself, Australia, and New Zealand in 1979. 

New Zealand won the last Netball World Cup in Liverpool in 2019. South Africa was placed fourth in that tournament, the best African placing. 

Africa Focus

There are currently 11 African countries listed in the latest World Netball Rankings, but only seven have ever played in the Netball World Cup. Of those seven, only four African countries will play in the 2023 edition: Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. All four qualifying countries are currently ranked within the top 20 netball teams globally. 

Thirteenth-placed Zimbabwe has been drawn alongside Australia, Tonga and Fiji in Group A. Fiji is the only group A country that ranks lower than Zimbabwe at 15th place.

Malawi has been drawn in Group B alongside England, Scotland, and Barbados. At sixth place in the current World Netball Rankings, England is the only Group B country that ranks higher than Malawi in third place.

Fifth-placed South Africa has been drawn in Group C alongside Jamaica, Wales, and Sri Lanka and is only outranked by Jamaica in fourth place.

Lastly, seventh-placed Uganda has been drawn in Group D alongside defending champions New Zealand (who are in second place), Trinidad and Tobago, and Singapore. New Zealand is the only Group D country that currently outranks Uganda.

Ahead of the pack

As far as Africa goes, South Africa is the most successful team at the world cup. Apart from achieving fourth place in 2019, the team also finished as bronze medalists in 1967, and silver medalists in 1995 in its nine appearances on the world stage. 

The other African countries that have previously participated in the competition remain unplaced.

Netball is a much loved sport among girls and women in Africa, especially in Southern Africa where most of the continent’s previous participants are concentrated. Six out of the seven countries that have participated in the Netball World Cup are from Southern Africa, with South Africa making the most appearances (nine). 

Netball is South Africa’s most popular women’s sport with over two-million active players, according to Brand South Africa – the official marketing agency for South Africa.

Significant inroads have been made by Netball South Africa (Netball SA) towards uplifting the sport in South Africa. The semi-professional Netball League of South Africa was launched in 2014, and by 2020, the league had expanded to 12 teams, split into two divisions of six with matches being televised on Supersport. 

Meanwhile, South African netball edged closer to professionalism when, in June this year, Netball SA announced that it had rewarded 24 national team players with the first-ever professional netball contracts in the country’s history. 

There is an expectation that South Africa’s hosting of the Netball World Cup will contribute towards the growth of the sport in the coming years.