The Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023) has been nominated for the Sports Business Awards in the ‘Best Sporting Event of the Year 2023’ category.
World Netball’s premier event, the Netball World Cup, is held every four years in various cities across the globe. This year marked a significant milestone as the tournament took place in Africa for the first time, specifically in South Africa, to commemorate its 60th Anniversary. The dates for the event were from July 28th to August 6th.
A total of 16 teams earned their spots in the 60-match event through either their World Netball World Ranking or by participating in one of the five regional qualification events conducted in 2022.
The Gold Medal was secured by Australia, who emerged victorious against England in a thrilling Final. Meanwhile, Jamaica clinched the Bronze Medal.
The success of the NWC2023 surpassed all expectations and culminated four years of meticulous planning by World Netball (WN), the NWC2023 Local Organising Committee, and Netball South Africa.
One of the event’s highlights was establishing the most successful commercial program in the history of Netball World Cup tournaments. The sales from sponsorships reached double the amount achieved in the Netball World Cup 2019. Additionally, broadcasting rights were sold to all major netball nations, while fans in other countries could access the matches through WN’s NetballPass OTT platform.
An extraordinary milestone was also achieved by the host broadcaster SuperSport, as the NWC2023 was produced and recorded entirely by an all-female crew.
There were 109,437 posts on social media discussing the NWC2023, generating a staggering 3.3 billion potential impressions. Moreover, social media videos related to the event garnered an impressive 12.1 million views.
The impact extended to the grassroots level, with 63 free fan parks and 30 viewing centers spread across all nine provinces of South Africa, enabling the entire nation to engage with the event.
Inspired by NWC2023, individuals in South Africa and across Africa will now have increased opportunities to participate in netball. This legacy initiative includes coaching and umpiring courses to enhance technical skills and establish new netball facilities.
Notably, the South African Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation provided sprung wooden netball floors to all nine provinces within the country and three international nations: Malawi, Ghana, and Botswana.
Expressing her excitement about the nomination, World Netball CEO Clare Briegal remarked,
“We are absolutely thrilled that the Netball World Cup 2023 has been shortlisted for this esteemed award. At World Netball, we are dedicated to expanding the global reach and influence of netball.”
She further emphasized, “The decision to award the hosting rights of the Netball World Cup 2023 to Netball South Africa was a demonstration of our commitment to promoting growth. The entire African continent, along with Netball South Africa and the NWC2023 Local Organising Committee, embraced this opportunity wholeheartedly. Together, they delivered an exceptional Netball World Cup that introduced the sport to a broader audience than ever before, while showcasing world-class competitive play to netball enthusiasts worldwide.”
Briegal concluded by expressing her gratitude to everyone involved in making the event an outstanding success.
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