MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube on hosting the World Table Tennis Championships 2023

Durban, KZN to host the World Table Tennis Championships 2023

South Africa: I wish to inform the people of KwaZulu-Natal that we have received the good news that Durban has been awarded hosting rights for the World Table Tennis Championship in 2023.

As pointed out by ITTF, Durban has been selected after comfortably seeing off a rival bid from Düsseldorf  at the International Table Tennis Federation's (ITTF) virtual Annual General Meeting held on today – the 28th September 2020.

We acknowledge with humility ITTF’s announcement that “Durban will become the first South African city to host the event after it enjoyed a commanding 90 votes to 39 victory over its German opponent”.

Critically, as indicated by the federation - the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships will also be the first to take place in Africa since Cairo played host in 1939.

I want to convey our sincere gratitude to the South Africa Table Tennis Board (SATTB) President Joe Carrim and the entire leadership for working with KZN Government, eThekwini Municipality and other key role players during the bidding process.

I know that in the beginning it was extremely difficult but through your determination you have managed to pull this off.  On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, I wish to personally salute all role-players who have been involved in this important national project.

We are indebted to the South African government for the support. We thank KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala and the entire cabinet for the guidance throughout the bidding process.

Equally, we congratulate Germany, the country that has hosted the event on six previous occasions, including twice in the past eight years.

As it was pointed out ahead of the announcement, Düsseldorf staged the 2017 World Championships successfully with German Table Tennis Association emphasizing that the city had earned its reputation of being the "table tennis capital.

With Durban being selected as the next host city, we flatter ourselves to believe that this is because South Africa and KwaZulu-Natal in particular, have in the past proved to be worthy and competent hosts of a number of national, continental and international events of diverse interests.

We are overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response and interest that has been shown by the sport loving community from across the globe. The people of KwaZulu-Natal cannot wait to welcome international and national visitors during the World Table Tennis Championship in 2023.

We are excited about the fact that this championship will become one of the most important and “a must see event” in the global calendar.

Notes to the Editors:

Remarks by the South African Table Tennis Board President, Joe Carrim: “Winning this bid to host the finals of the Individual World Table Tennis Championship took a great deal of effort and commitment from all parties and is just a reward for a truly combined effort. The hard work to ensure the total success of the championship starts immediately. I wish to thank the members of the ITTF for their trust and belief in our ability to host this global event. We thank them for their patience during the site inspection which was followed by video presentation on the 21st September during to restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We thank KZN Premier, his cabinet and as well as the Mayor Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda and MMC’s of eThekwini for their unwavering support

Remarks by MEC for Sport & Recreation, Ms Hlengiwe Mavimbela: We are proud of the fact that hosting the WTTC 2023 gives us as the people of this province the opportunity to showcase our rich sporting culture to the whole world.”

Remarks by the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, Cllr. Mxolisi Kaunda: “As the people of eThekwini, we are indeed ready to roll out the red carpet to welcome our visitors. We continue to work hard to position Durban as a globally competitive city with sports lovers ready to play; and entrepreneurs ready to form partnerships.”

Key Facts:

  • The ITTF is the World governing body for all 226 affiliated national table tennis associations.  The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions, including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926.
  • It was announced today at the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) AGM, which is currently taking place in virtually, that KwaZulu-Natal Province, City of Durban will play host to the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships at ICC Durban in May 2023.  This marks the only the second time in its history that the event has been held in Africa, having last been hosted by Egypt in 1939 (81 years ago).
  • The announcement of Durban, KZN as the host for World Table Tennis Championships 2023 represents the culmination of a successful bid to host the event driven by the South African Table Tennis Board, the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal through the Department of Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs; KZN Department of Sport & Recreation and EThekwini Municipality. Other key role-players include KZN Tourism Authority, KZN Convention Bureau, Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre and Airports Company of South Africa.

Enquiries:

Ndabezinhle Sibiya
Cell: 082 375 4742

Nathi Olifant
Cell: 060 970 5113

Province

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