Independent investigation necessary following allegations of mismanagement, sexual offenses and victimisation at Netball SA

In a letter to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) today, the civil rights organisation AfriForum demanded that an independent investigation be launched against Netball SA. This follows after AfriForum in a documentary entitled The true state of affairs in Netball SA turned the spotlight on allegations of victimisation, sexual offenses and mismanagement in Netball SA. Since the release of this documentary, more whistleblowers have approached the organisation with further information that supports the allegations in this documentary.

Netball is one of the sports in South Africa that has incredible potential, but due to mismanagement and political agendas this potential is not being fully exploited. Ronald Peters, manager of AfriForum Sport, says that it is clear that the information disclosed in this documentary has caused great unhappiness among the public. People are now requesting that steps be taken to investigate these allegations to hold the guilty parties accountable.

“The Netball World Cup is around the corner and the official hashtag of the world cup is #TakingNetballBackToThePeople. Therefore it is very positive for us to see that people and the private sector are standing up against the alleged injustices in Netball SA and in South African sport as a whole. This is the only way we can ensure a better future for sportspeople in South Africa,” says Peters.

AfriForum strongly condemns the mismanagement of sport federations and sports governing bodies in South Africa because it has a significant impact on the role that sport should actually play in the development and empowerment of communities.