Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own goal ring. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls and remains primarily played by them, on indoor and outdoor courts, especially in schools and most popularly in the Commonwealth of Nations.
World Netball, previously known as the International Netball Federation and the International Federation of Netball Associations, is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the Netball World Cup and Netball at the Commonwealth Games
The Jamaica national netball team, commonly known as the Sunshine Girls, represent Jamaica in international netball competitions. Netball is the number one women's sport and the number one team sport in Jamaica, and the majority of the schools in Jamaica participate. Netball receives full media coverage on television, radio and in newspapers but does not get as much coverage as less successful team sports such as football and cricket. Jamaica were coached by former representative Oberon Pitterson and captained by midcourt veteran Nadine Bryan until the end of 2013. In early 2014, a Technical Director and new coach were appointed. As of 1 July 2020, Jamaica are fourth in the INF World Rankings. The senior Jamaican netball team is widely known as the Sunshine Girls; the Jamaican Fast 5 netball team is known as Jamaica Fast5 or the FAST5 Girls.
The Samoa national netball team or Tifa Moana represent Samoa in international netball tests and competitions. The team are coached by Marcia Hardcastle and are co-captained by Opheira Harder-Karatau and Julianna Naoupu. As of 21 July 2019, Samoa are 16th in the INF World Rankings.
Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns.
The Botswana national netball team represent Botswana in international netball tests. Botswana competed in the 2007 World Netball Championships, their first appearance at a World Championships, finishing tenth. They also came second at the 2008 Nations Cup, and finished 13th at the 2011 World Championships in Singapore. As of 2 December 2019, Botswana are 24th in the INF World Rankings.
The Scotland national netball team represents Scotland in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the European Netball Championship and the Netball Singapore Nations Cup. Scotland also effectively competes in the Netball Superleague. Between 2008 and 2011 they played as Glasgow Wildcats. Since 2017 they have played as the Sirens. As of 1 March 2022, Scotland was 9th in the INF World Rankings.
The Cook Islands national netball team represent the Cook Islands in international netball. In recent years they have finished 1st at the 2019 Pacific Games, 1st at the 2018 Nations Cup in Singapore, 10th at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 7th at the 2007 World Netball Championships; the Cook Islands did not qualify for the 2011 World Championships in Singapore. The Cook Islands team were ranked as high as 10th in the INF World Rankings at one stage, now currently 14th.
The Singapore national netball team are the national netball team representing Singapore. The Singapore team have competed at eight World Netball Championships. They have also won three Nations Cup titles.
The Uganda national netball team, also known as the She-Cranes, represent the Uganda Netball Federation in international netball tournaments, such as the Netball World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Uganda have won Africa Netball Cup, All-Africa Games and Netball Singapore Nations Cup tournaments. Their best results in major tournaments are fifth place finishes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Netball World Cup. As of 25 July 2024, Uganda are sixth in the World Netball Rankings.
Netball is the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, in terms of player participation and public interest. With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand. As in other netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport; men's and mixed teams exist at different levels, but are ancillary to women's competition.
Netball in Oceania is generally regarded as a woman's sport. Women's sports in Oceania have traditionally had a very low profile. Despite this, netball is popular in Oceania, with its growth partly because of New Zealand encouraging the game and providing money for the training of coaches, umpires and other netball development needs. In New Zealand and in neighbouring Australia, netball is one of the most popular sports played by women.
Netball is a popular participant sport in some parts of the world, particularly in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. According to the IFNA, over 20 million people play netball in more than 72 countries. IFNA member nations are divided into five regional groups: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The Republic of Ireland national netball team is the national netball team of the Republic of Ireland. Their best performance at international tournament was a 10th-place finish in the 1991 World Netball Championships. As of 25 August 2022, the Republic of Ireland are 24th in the INF World Rankings. The current team members are below.
The Namibia national netball team is the national netball team of Namibia. As of 2 December 2019, Namibia were 30th in the INF World Rankings. Namibia competed in the annual Confederation of Southern African Netball Associations (COSANA) tournament in 2008. The 2010 Nations Cup, called NTUC FairPrice Foundation Nations Cup 2010, was held in December. Namibia beat India 72–32 to capture fifth. The current team members are below.
Fiji competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to April 15, 2018. It was Fiji's 16th appearance at the Commonwealth Games.
The 2023 Netball World Cup was the sixteenth staging of the Netball World Cup, the premier competition in international netball, contested every four years. The tournament was held from 28 July to 6 August at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, its first time in Africa.
Unaisi Rauluni also simply known as Una Rauluni is a Fijian netball player and current captain of the Fiji national team who plays in the positions of goal attack or goal shooter. She has featured in two World Cup tournaments for Fiji in 2015 and in 2019.
Matila Vocea is a Fijian netball player who plays for her home country in the position of goal attack or goal shooter. She was included in the Fijian squad for the 2019 Netball World Cup, which was also her first appearance at a Netball World Cup.
Vaiti Waqatabu is a Fijian netball and rugby player who has captained the Fiji national netball team.
