Mami Diale succeeded Cecilia Molokwane as president of Netball South Africa a year ago this month. Diale, who was Molokwane’s vice-president, took the reins under an extremely dark cloud, the result of the latter’s indefinite suspension from the sport by global governing body World Netball. Molokwane’s matter has not yet been resolved. World Netball’s probe, led by an independent panel, is continuing after a number of delays.

Diale’s predecessor was initially suspended from the sport in April 2025. World ­Netball suspended and formally charged Molokwane after reports by members of Netball South Africa. Although the specific charges have not been publicly disclosed, Daily Maverick sources previously alleged financial mismanagement and the systematic purging of internal rivals.

The local netball body was mandated to oust Molokwane as well, or risk South Africa facing a blanket ban while the investigation was being conducted. Although she eventually stepped away, Molokwane has always maintained her innocence, saying she was being painted as a “monster”.

For Diale, therefore, stepping into the permanent presidency (after initially acting in Molokwane’s absence), was never going to be easy, particularly as she had been the deputy during the period of Molokwane’s alleged misdemeanours.

Sources have previously told Daily Mave­rick that the former Netball South Africa president ran a tight ship, with those opposing her facing all the might of her wrath and influence. Consequently, it was eventually up to World Netball to intervene.

Diale opens up

Speaking to Daily Maverick in an exclusive interview, Netball South Africa’s new sheriff said that when she took over, it was important to forge a unified community for the sport in the country.

“My announcement as president felt like the storm was over, because netball went through a lot while I was still vice-president. So, when I stepped in, I knew what Netball South Africa needed in order to restore its dignity within a short space of time,” Diale said.

“We also made sure that we preached a message of unity with the netball fraternity. We preached inclusion; that was our strategy. This as opposed to dividing members by saying, ‘Before the elections, you belonged to a certain camp, so now you are no longer part of netball.’ Unity is power.”

Turning to South Africa’s rapport with the global body since Molokwane’s suspension, Diale said: “Our relationship with World Netball is good because we complied in terms of the constitutional mandate [it set for us]... If we were resistant to World Netball’s directives, it would have meant our players would have been affected negatively.”

Sports administrators in South Africa are often guilty of stealing the spotlight from the athletes through maladministration. Nevertheless, South African athletes are resilient and often excel in spite of these boardroom shenanigans. Diale said under her leadership, the most important component of South African sport was the athletes.

“As Netball South Africa, we are saying the players are at the centre of netball. We need to always put them first and us [as administrators] must stand behind them. At all times, the players must benefit,” she said.

One eye on the World Cup

The 2027 Netball World Cup is less than a year away. The world’s best netballers will descend on Sydney, Australia, for the tournament, which takes place from 25 August to 5 September.

The Proteas last placed on the podium in a World Cup three decades ago when they secured silver behind eventual winners Australia. Since then, their best finish has been the fourth place they managed in 2019, when the global netball spectacle was hosted by England. In 2023, as hosts, South Africa could only manage sixth spot.

“A podium will be good for us, but we are definitely looking for our team to be counted among the top four in the world,” Diale said about the team’s general target for the 2027 World Cup.

Since the previous one, the Proteas have bid farewell to veteran key players such as former captain Bongi Msomi, Phumza Maweni and most recently Karla Pretorius. Each had well over a century of international caps and will be hard to replace ahead of the World Cup.

This has not stopped Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk from searching for players who can fill those shoes. South Africa took a heavily rotated and experimental team to the 2026 Africa Netball Cup, which took place in September in Nairobi, Kenya. Van Dyk intentionally used the tournament to test new combinations, hand international exposure to younger players and build squad depth ahead of the World Cup.

Africa Netball Cup disappointment

However, the South Africans would have still been disappointed to be edged 56-53 by Uganda in the final. They were seeking a third successive title in the competition, which also serves as a World Cup qualifier.

But they had already qualified through their high global ranking – currently fifth.

“At the Netball Africa Cup, both the Spar Proteas and Proteas Warriors [men’s team] went to compete,” Diale said. “Within the Africa Cup, we understand that the women’s team had already qualified for next year’s World Cup. So, they just went there for competition.

“What people also don’t understand is that as much as the team came second [the men won their final against Eswatini], the aim for the coach was to test different players and combinations. So, it was a success in that regard because that was our second team that we took in preparation for the World Cup.”

Regarding the Proteas Warriors who retained their trophy, Diale said: “They remain the kings of Africa, so we are happy about that. We have been very intentional about promoting the men’s team. We want to give them the same opportunities as the women’s team.”

The women’s team will be able to assess their progress ahead of the World Cup when they face competitors England away from home in February 2027.

Diale said Netball South Africa was ready to offer whatever support the team needed to excel and improve on their previous World Cup showing. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R39. The e-edition of Daily Maverick’s weekly newspaper, DM168, is now free for readers who are signed into their Daily Maverick account. Click here to access the latest e-edition.