Dear Editor
Last week, Premier Alan Winde and senior staff of the Western Cape Government were joined by representatives from Netball SA to celebrate the launch of Netball Friday. This initiative seeks to build anticipation and excitement ahead of the upcoming Netball World Cup, which will take place in Cape Town from 28 July to 6 August 2023.
Netball Fridays is a call to all South Africans to show their support for the national team, the Proteas, as they prepare for the tournament. They will be competing against 15 other teams from across the world for the title of world champions.
This is the first time in history that the tournament has been held on the African continent, with 60 games planned to take place in Cape Town. It also marks the first time in history that the event will be covered by an all-female broadcast team, who will work with international partners to ensure that coverage of the event is distributed across the globe.
Preparations for the World Cup are well underway, with a number of netball courts having been completed ahead of schedule. The provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport has used the event as an opportunity to upgrade netball courts in communities across the Western Cape, and has engaged in a number of projects to promote the sport on a grassroots level. The event is also predicted to bring a boost to the province’s tourism and hospitality sectors, as players, officials, support staff, and spectators flock to the Western Cape.
I invite all South Africans, especially residents of the Western Cape, to join me in showing support for our national netball team and for the event as a whole. Let us come together to deliver another world-class sporting event, and demonstrate why South Africa remains one of the world’s greatest sporting nations.
Regards
Gillion Bosman, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson for Cultural Affairs and Sport
