Johannesburg - When the Netball League of South Africa started in 2014, it became the first semi-professional tournament of its kind on the continent, and there would have been genuine questions regarding its future and sustainability.
Starting with 10 founding teams, the now named Telkom Netball League has slowly, steadily and inexorably marched on, growing in stature and strength. The renewal of the league’s sponsorship for another three years – announced in Sandton on Wednesday – will only help continue that growth, while the addition of two more teams in an expanded 15-team tournament will increase its footprint even more.
Netball in South Africa will arguably reach an apotheosis this year when it hosts the World Cup in July in Cape Town, but Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane is dreaming even bigger and looking beyond that, too.
“We can still do more,” Molokwane said earlier this week in a year she is calling “20-20-she”.
“We have realised that there is something right that we are doing, but we want more. We want to grow this sport and make sure that netball is being taken seriously and it grows to the level that it should be at.”
“Next year, we want to introduce international players in the Telkom Netball League.
“It will give the girls competition to say, ‘here is a Zambian girl, there is a Zimbabwean girl, Malawi girl, Scottish girl, Australian girl and New Zealander girl who can come here and play’. We are looking at two or less international players in the team to boost that team ...
“We must take this league professional. When the girls wake up in the morning, they must go and play netball, breathe netball, marry netball and be paid at the end of the day.
“That will say to the girls, ‘there is a career here, there is a life here, this is where I want to be and see myself in the future.’”
To facilitate that next step, Molokwane & Co need sponsors. The sport has already seen increased interest from the corporate world – including Telkom, their long-standing partnership with Spar, and more recently Hollywoodbets and Puma, but more will be required.
“I want to challenge the corporate world,” Molokwane said.
“We want you to come on board and help invest to help turn netball professional. You won’t regret it. You will even say, ‘why did we come in so late?’”
The addition of the Free State Sonoblomo and Limpopo Lilies, plus the continued broadcast support from SuperSport when the tournament tips off at the end of April, could aid in making the sport even more attractive to a broader audience.
Adding the two new teams is also important to the health of netball in SA, according to Molokwane, while explaining how they came to the decision to include the Sonoblomo and Lilies.
“It is important, because I am the president of nine provinces, 52 districts and eight associated members. Every member has to benefit,” she said.
“We looked at the demographics of the country. Limpopo is big.
“The Craniums (who won the Telkom Netball League between 2014 and 2016), it was about performance, I am not going to lie. They have been champions for three years and last year they came in third after a bit of a dip.
“We said, ‘you know what, let’s give them the second team.’
“In the B division, we looked at who performed well. It was the Limpopo Baobabs, so we had to give them the second team …
“The Sonoblomo, they are going to blossom. The Free State has got very good netball that is being played.”
@FreemanZAR
IOL Sport