Veteran football administrator Ria Ledwaba believes the 2023 Netball World Cup gives the country an opportunity to groom young sports administrators. 

Ledwaba is one of the most influential sports administrators in SA, renowned for being the founder of Ria Stars Football Club that played in the PSL, and she is the first black female vice-president of the South African Football Association. She has been awarded on many occasions for her work in the sports fraternity. 

SA sport is faced with a problem, with most of the executives leading various sporting organisations of retirement age, and there’s a lack of skills, with many young executives not having the expertise to bring corporates on board.

The Netball World Cup will be hosted in the country for the first time next year – it will be staged in Cape Town from July 28 to August 6. The official ball and clock were revealed yesterday at Sun City, North West.

SA will complete the circle of hosting four major sporting world cups. 

From the previous world cups the country has hosted, many administrative careers were birthed. Ledwaba is hoping that the Netball World Cup will do the same and unearth some gems who can lead sports.

“The World Cup comes with a lot of opportunities for administrators to learn,” said Ledwaba. 

“It’s a world stage, we have done it before, we have seen a lot of young men and women being groomed in world cups. For me, [with the Netball World Cup] we want to see administrators that will be groomed, not only for the World Cup but the future,” she said. 

With August being Women’s Month, Ledwaba shared her thoughts on what the Netball World Cup means for women’s sports. 

“This Netball World Cup is huge, it’s an opportunity for women on the continent to be motivated and see that there is opportunity in sports. 

“The World Cup shows that the country has done well in terms of women’s sports. We are not yet where we want to be,” Ledwaba said.