Netball World Cup 2023 Nominated for Best Sporting Event Award
The Netball World Cup 2023 (NWC2023) received recognition for its successful organisation and global impact after being nominated for the Sports Business Awards in the Best Sporting Event of the Year 2023 category.
The tournament was a major milestone for international netball because it was the first Netball World Cup held on the African continent.
Cape Town, South Africa, welcomed the world's leading netball nations from 28 July to 6 August 2023.
A Historic Netball World Cup in Africa
The 2023 Netball World Cup marked the 60th anniversary of the competition.
For the first time, the tournament was staged in Africa, with South Africa hosting teams, officials and supporters from around the world.
Sixteen national teams competed in the competition, playing a total of 60 matches.
The participating teams qualified through their World Netball rankings or regional qualification tournaments held in 2022.
Read our complete guide to the Netball World Cup 2023 teams.
Australia Won the Championship
Australia claimed the gold medal after defeating England 61–45 in the final.
Jamaica secured the bronze medal after defeating New Zealand, achieving its first World Cup podium finish since 2007.
The tournament delivered exciting matches and memorable performances from some of the world's best netball athletes.
Read the full report: Australia Crowned Netball World Cup 2023 Champions for the 12th Time.
A Successful Commercial Programme
The 2023 tournament achieved significant commercial success.
The sponsorship programme generated approximately double the sponsorship sales achieved during the 2019 Netball World Cup.
Broadcasting agreements helped the competition reach audiences across major netball-playing countries, while international viewers could also access matches through World Netball's NetballPass platform.
These commercial achievements demonstrated the growing global interest in women's sport and international netball.
An All-Female Broadcast Production Crew
One of the tournament's notable achievements was the work of host broadcaster SuperSport.
The NWC2023 production and recording operation was completed entirely by an all-female crew, creating an important milestone in sports broadcasting.
This achievement highlighted the growing contribution of women to the technical and production side of major sporting events.
Impressive Social Media Engagement
The Netball World Cup generated substantial digital engagement.
The tournament attracted:
- 109,437 social media posts discussing NWC2023.
- Approximately 3.3 billion potential social media impressions.
- Around 12.1 million views of social media videos.
These figures demonstrated the tournament's ability to attract attention beyond traditional netball audiences.
Bringing Netball to Communities Across South Africa
The event also created opportunities for fans to participate in the tournament experience.
Organisers established 63 free fan parks and 30 viewing centres across South Africa's nine provinces.
These locations allowed supporters to follow the competition and celebrate the sport with their communities.
The tournament's legacy programme also aimed to increase participation through coaching and umpiring development, alongside improvements to netball facilities.
Why Was the Nomination Important?
The Sports Business Awards nomination recognised the broader success of the tournament.
NWC2023 demonstrated how a major international sporting event can create benefits beyond the court, including:
- International tourism.
- Commercial partnerships.
- Sports broadcasting opportunities.
- Community participation.
- Women's leadership in sports production.
- Grassroots netball development.
The Legacy of Netball World Cup 2023
The tournament helped strengthen the position of African netball on the international stage.
South Africa's hosting achievement also created greater visibility for other African teams, including Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
Explore our guide to the top 10 netball teams in Africa.
Final Thoughts
The 2023 Netball World Cup was more than an international sporting competition. It was an opportunity to showcase netball, celebrate women's sport and expand the game's reach across Africa and the rest of the world.
The Sports Business Awards nomination reflected the tournament's impact on sport, business, broadcasting and communities.
