[Image: Pixabay]
Padel is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. And, when it comes to the padel hype, South Africa hasn’t been left out, with new courts popping up seemingly every day and more people picking up a bat to give it a go.
If you thought that this was only a casual hobby, think again, because this activity has a newly-formed league where teams can compete for a trophy.
In the new SA Padel League, beginners will line up alongside advanced players to duke it out for the coveted Nabob Cup. Three of the six teams have been announced – the H&M Aces, the Nabob Lions and Your Solar SA Sharks – with the rest to follow.
@nabobmedia We introduce the Nabob Cup, a brand new franchise padel league in South Africa. We explain how businesses can own a team, build their identity, and compete for the title, while players face trials to secure a spot in the player pool. We highlight the auction night and the eight-week season leading to one champion. #NabobMedia #NabobCup #Padel #viral #tiktok ♬ original sound – Nabob Media
According to the league’s co-founder, Marco Da Costa Dias, the point was to put club-level players on the same stage as stronger ones.
“Our key focus and approach is giving our beginner, intermediate and advanced player the opportunity to be a part of something big. Be a part of a team and help take your team to the top”. Rather than being an opportunity for socialising, it will be purely about the competition.”
The competition was created by Nabob Media to mark its TikTok account surpassing 250 000 followers. Da Costa Dias said the Nabob Cup would set itself apart on the experience it built around the sport. “Nabob Cup is a place where innovation takes padel to the next level,” he said.
CEO of Nabob Media, Zareef Minty, said it was aimed at players the established padel structures had missed. “This padel cup is here to showcase the hidden talent we have in South Africa but at the same time we want to build community.”
Africa Padel were the first in the game, opening its first club in Camps Bay in 2021. It now runs 19 clubs, from Johannesburg and Durban to Bloemfontein, Gqeberha and Plettenberg Bay. Not a cost-effective sport, a game costs about R400 an hour at most clubs, which works out at roughly R100 a player, and clubs hire out bats to anyone who arrives without one.
In July, SA hosted its first Premier Padel P1 tournament at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, with about R10 million in prize money and 33 South Africans participating in the event.
So, if you take playing padel very seriously and think that you should be recognised for your skills on the court, you might want to sign up to become part of the SA Padel League and you could become a member of a cup-winning squad.
[Source: IOL]
