The Mayor of Liverpool handed over the International Netball Federation flag to Cape Town on Sunday night, at the conclusion of the 2019 Netball World Cup.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith represented the City of Cape Town when the flag was presented to team South Africa, signalling the start of the journey to 2023.

South Africa was one of the top performers at the 2019 event and is now ranked among the top four Netball nations In the world.

‘The City of Cape Town is very proud of the South African netball team’s brilliant performance at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. They played with heart and soul and made it to the semifinals for the first time. The team finished fourth; better than countries with more experience and positions on the world rankings. We congratulate them and look forward to the tournament in 2023, when South Africa will play on home soil,’ said Alderman Smith.

‘Through the 2023 Netball World Cup, we aim to further lift the profile of the sport, and the talented players. Sport allows many young people to create a brighter future for themselves and we are committed to supporting this goal. The City of Cape Town has hosted many large-scale sporting events and we are confident that this event will also be a resounding success,’ added Executive Mayor Dan Plato.

In March, Cape Town was announced as the host city for the Netball World Cup in 2023 after a successful inter-governmental bid which included the national and provincial governments as well as Netball South Africa.

Last month, Cape Town successfully hosted the U/19 National Championship which featured 37 teams from across the country.

There are plans to host several other events leading up to the 2023 Netball World Cup.