Tickets that soar higher than a netball star

It’s difficult to drop the feeling that the Netball World Cup organisers scored an own goal during the tournament that ended in Cape Town at the weekend.

Netball is a Cinderella sport, left at home while rugby, cricket and soccer go to the ball. But it’s a joy to watch — as fast and tactical as basketball, with less theatrics.

In South Africa it’s also a possible path to a better life for young black women growing up in difficult circumstances.

So every possible effort should have been made to get youngsters into the seats at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) where the matches were held.

Instead, even before play started, it was clear that once more sport was going to lose out to, well, money.

At R500 for the cheapest children’s tickets (R700 for adults), the chance was lost to inspire a nation of young hopefuls with dreams of emulating Proteas captain Bongiwe Msomi. 

It was possible to watch the tournament for free from the fan park — if you could get there.

Rugby fans can pick up a ticket to watch the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium for as little as R80 — but Netball South Africa CEO Blanche de la Guerre said it was unfair to compare prices for a 60,000-seat stadium with those for the two 6,000-seat CTICC venues. (Small as the venues were, many games were played in front of scores of empty seats.)

De la Guerre noted that tickets were for two matches a day. So, R250 each, then, and still as out of reach for most South Africans as a ride on one of Elon Musk’s rockets, though the netball would probably be more fun. 

Meanwhile the city said it hoped to earn R68m from the tournament. Something is out of whack. Ref!