Netball League (South Africa)

On 16 April 2014, Netball South Africa announced that the first semi-professional netball league ever to play in Africa would be launched. Juicing company Brutal Fruit (subsidiary of South African Breweries) were signed as the league's naming-rights sponsor for five years, ensuring the competition would be known as the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup. Ahead of the 2019 competition the sponsorship deal expired and the league was sponsored by Telkom.^[1] The inaugural championship was contested by 10 teams from all nine South African provinces, played over a five-week period. The top five provincial teams formed Division 1, with the remainder forming Division 2. The first competition ran from 10 May 2014 to 7 June 2014. All matches were held in the Rembrandt Hall at the University of Pretoria and were broadcast live on SuperSport.^[2]

The Free State Crinums won the inaugural Brutal Fruit Netball Cup, beating the Gauteng Jaguars 40-36 in a match that went into overtime.^[3] Western Cape's Southern Stings won the Division 2 Shield of the Brutal Fruit Netball Netball in its inaugural year, beating KZN Kingdom Stars 39-31 in the final match.^[4][5][6]

In 2019 the league consisted of 10 teams split into two divisions. Three other teams whose results were not included were added; the Presidents Smileys, a team made up of national team players based in South Africa, the President’s Stars which is a male only team, competing only in exhibition matches and the Zimbabwe national team used the league as preparation for the World Cup.^[7] The 2019 championship was won by the Gauteng Jaguars, their third title in the competition.^[8]

In 2020 the league expanded to 12 teams, split into two divisions of six. At the end of the season a promotion and relegation playoff match between the bottom team from Division 1 and the top team Division 2 is played. The 2020 season was won by the Jaguars.^[9]

In 2023, the league was played at Ngwako Ramatlhodi Sports Complex in Polokwane from 27 April -1 May 2023 and Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria from 2 June -1 July 2023. The Gauteng Jaguars lifted their sixth Division 1 title with a 59-51 win over the Free State Crinums.^[10] The Limpopo Baobabs won their maiden Division 2 title with a 65-40 win over the Western Cape Tornados.^[11]

In 2024, the league was hosted by the City of Johannesburg from the 26 April - 19 June 2024 at Ellis Park Area.^[12] In Division 1, the Free State Crinums defeated defending champions Gauteng Jaguars 47-46 to lift their fourth title. KZN Kingdom Stars won Division Two with a 37-35 win over the Eastern Cape Aloes.^[13]

All matches in the league are played according to prevailing International Netball Federation (INF) rules. Points are awarded as follows:

• Win = 2 points
• Draw = 1 point
• Lose = 0 points

The duration of each match is one hour, consisting of four quarters of 15 minutes each.

North West

Northern Cape

Gauteng

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

Free State

KwaZulu-Natal

Eastern Cape

Western Cape

• Correct as of 2023

• Official Website