World Table Tennis Championships is coming to South Africa in 2023

MEC MAVIMBELA SPEAKING NOTES ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF ITTF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS DURBAN 2023 MOSES MABHIDA STADIUM, 09H30 27 May 2022

It gives me great pleasure to address you this morning on this delightful and historic occasion of the launch of the 2023 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships taking place in Durban. In just less than a year from today, the City of eThekwini, the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and the African continent at large will welcome to our shores a contingent of world class table tennis players together with their management teams as well as the entire international table tennis family.

It is worthwhile noting that this launch event is hosted at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium, which has become an important landmark and one of the greatest heritage projects that came to existence as part of the legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup. During the World Cup we demonstrated to the world that Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa are capable of hosting world-class events. And indeed, we are expecting no less this time around when we forge ahead with our preparations to host the table tennis world showpiece.

As you are aware, this prestigious event in 2023 will be hosted at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, which is another iconic venue that gives the City and Province the edge when it comes to our capabilities to host major events.

I wish to thank the ITTF, South African Table Tennis Board, SASCOC and other stakeholders for agreeing to our bid as Durban, KwaZulu-Natal to be the host city for this prestigious event. We were indeed excited on 28 September 2020, when the ITTF voted to award Durban the rights to host the 2023, which we all know is being hosted on the African continent for the first time since 1939 when these games were hosted in Egypt. We will be hosting this on behalf of the African continent.

Besides the opportunity to host these top of the range games that will be beamed live to world-wide audiences, we are very much interested in ensuring that this event leaves a lasting legacy that will be enjoyed by generations to come. It may not be the magnitude of football world cup, but we expect the picture of table tennis to change. We are committed to work with our stakeholders to increase access to table tennis to thousands of young players, not only in Durban but in different parts of the Province.

We are happy that after today’s unveiling of the logo and mascot, tomorrow we will host the social cohesion programme in KwaMashu that will mark the beginning of the legacy programme for the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Durban 2023. The availing of playing equipment, skills development and capacity building should be the cornerstone of the legacy project.

Whilst the Legacy Programme will kick-start in KwaMashu, we would also like to see the legacy of the hosting of the tournament permeate to other areas of KwaZulu-Natal, in particular rural areas. We feel that part of the equipment that the governing body leaves behind will serve the purpose of popularising this code of sport in rural and marginalized communities of this province.

Last year on 24th November 2021 I gave our Deputy Director General, Dr Thobile Sifunda my blessings to travel with the South African contingent to the Annual General Meeting of the International Table Tennis Federation to confirm the state of readiness of the City and Province to host the World Championships. One of the areas of concern was the COVID-19 pandemic. We however feel confident that with the measures in place, we will be ready to host this tournament, even more so now that we are more knowledgeable about this virus. Furthermore, KwaZulu-Natal has hosted a number of international gatherings, and thankfully spectators have now been allowed to return to stadia and arenas, as long as there is adherence to the regulations.

We look forward to welcoming the table tennis family to the shores of Durban in May 2023.

I thank you.