As South Africa signed off the month of August, on which was officially labelled Women’s Month, a Netball World Cup 2023 nomination for the prestigious global Sports Business Awards provided the ultimate endorsement of faith in the ability of at least five leading sports figures in the country.
All of whom are women, trailblazers as they continue to push back the boundaries and reach new heights.
Patience Shikwambana, Sumayya Khan, Priscilla Masisi, Cecilia Molokwane and Blanche de le Guerre were integral to the success of the Netball World Cup 2023, which was staged in Cape Town from 28 July to 6 August. This was the first time that the flagship tournament of World Netball had been held on African soil. And these leading women stakeholders in South African sport were integral to the success of the event.
Shikwambana was Chairperson of the NWC2023 Board, flanked by Board members Khan, Molokwane and De le Guerre, while Masisi was the Tournament Director.
The respective roles for Shikwambana, Khan, Molokwane and De le Guerre, away from their NWC duties, are South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Director in the Department of Sport, Netball SA president and Netball SA CEO.
The delivery of the event, which saw it become the most successful Netball World Cup commercially in history, and doubled the sponsorship sales from the 2019 event in Liverpool, was down in no small part to the five leading women of South African sport.
It is fitting that, as the curtain comes down on the month of August, these women are celebrated as captains of the sports industry.
