NEWS: World Netball President Thrilled by First Netball World Cup in Africa

Dame Liz Nicholl, President of World Netball, is excited about the first-ever Netball World Cup being held on African soil in Cape Town. She expressed anticipation for the unique African character the event will showcase, celebrating the sport’s growth on the continent.

The Netball World Cup has previously been hosted on four different continents, but this marks a historic moment for Africa. South Africa, Malawi, and Uganda have all shown impressive performances and rankings in international netball.

Nicholl, who had a notable sports administration career and played for Wales in World Championships, recognizes the significance of netball’s growth worldwide, with Africa being a key focus for the sport’s future.

Nicholl said: “The very first Netball World Cup was held in Eastbourne in England in 1963 and here we are now 60 years later celebrating the very first Netball World Cup being held on African soil, here in Cape Town and we’re looking forward to a truly spectacular event.

“We’ve been across four other continents of our netball world in previous World Cups and on every occasion the Netball World Cup is quite unique in character, so everyone is looking forward to seeing and feeling the African character throughout this Netball World Cup this week.”

“There’s a huge following of netball, particularly in Africa and the African nations who are doing so well at the very highest level of international netball in terms of the numbers now that have world rankings and a number towards the top of our rankings,” she said.

“So, we know it’s a very special sport, it’s got a great following here in Africa amongst lots of communities and a significant number of nations and the same is happening across our world.

“The growth of netball is a key strategic focus for our sport… grow, play and inspire are the three themes of our strategic plan at World Netball.”