Historic day as 24 netball stars rewarded with first-ever Proteas contracts

Proteas captain Bongi Msomi and stars Lenize Potgieter and Karla Pretorius were among the 24 players who became the first contracted national team players in the sport's history in this country.

The move sees netball edge closer to coveted professionalism in the sport that will hold its next Netball World Cup in Cape Town next year.

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Netball South Africa announced on Tuesday that, of the 24 contracted players, seven were overseas-based, while the remainder were based in South Africa and have featured in the ongoing Telkom Netball League.

"Over the past three years, I have been speaking about the need for and importance of turning the sport professional. This process, this moment right here, is edging us closer to that goal," said Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane.

"Rome was never built in a day, so even here, we will not attain success overnight. This is a work in progress. I am glad we are here, and we are starting with twenty-four players for now."

Head coach Dorette Badenhorst said the contracts, which began on 1 April, were the right move to nudge the sport closer to professionalism.

"We are making history with having these players as the first group of contracted players in South Africa," Badenhorst said.

"I believe we are on the right track and will make value progress towards turning netball professional with a move like this.

"I am happy with the players selected and looking forward to continuing developing each individual to create depth in our national squad and to give them an opportunity at the big stage whenever they are at the appropriate level of readiness for international netball.

"As a country,