In a fervent appeal to the Ministry of Youth and Sport, World Netball and Africa Netball have called for the reinstatement of Netball on the sports program of the upcoming 2024 African Games.
This plea follows the removal of Netball from the original sports program due to the postponement of the games to March 2024.
The call was made during a press release where World Netball expressed gratitude to the Honourable Minister, Mustapha Ussif for the financial assistance provided to the Ghana Netball Federation, leading to the reinstatement of Ghana’s membership with Africa Netball and World Netball.
Ghana was previously selected as one of the countries for the 2023 Netball World Cup Legacy Programme, resulting in developmental efforts by facilitators from South Africa and the Netball Development Trust in the UK partnering with Ghana Netball Federation over the past two years.
Netball enthusiasts and advocates for women’s sports have pointed out that Netball is the largest female sport on the African continent.
Africa’s recent achievement of qualifying four countries for the Netball World Cup, with three of them ranking among the top 8 globally, highlights the sport’s strength in Africa.
Notably, Netball is predominantly a female sport and plays a pivotal role in empowering women and fostering the development of girls.
The inclusion of Netball in the African Games would provide an international platform for female athletes to shine and advance the cause of gender equality in sports.
Furthermore, the Netball competition in the African Games would contribute to world rankings, offering a significant opportunity for countries like Ghana to earn rating points and secure a place on the global Netball stage.
While Ghana faces economic challenges and the postponement of the All-Africa Games to March 2024, the appeal from World Netball and Africa Netball underscores the importance of keeping Netball in the spotlight as an empowering and competitive sport for women.
