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.
Netball's development traces back to American sports teacher Clara Gregory Baer's misinterpretation of the basketball rule book in 1895. The book had lines of patrol drawn on it and Clara interpreted this to mean that players had to stay in those zones.[15] Baer's modifications proliferated and were later officially ratified into the rules for women's basketball by 1899. Martina Bergman-Österberg had also introduced basketball to her female students at her Physical Training College in England in 1893. In the beginning it was also described as "women's basketball" but by 1897 it started to evolve into a distinctly separate sport based on modifications developed at Bergman-Österberg's college combined with Baer's rules.
The first codified rules of Bergman-Österberg's new sport, netball, were then published in 1901. By 1960, international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball, later renamed World Netball, was formed to be the sport's international governing body.
Netball differs in many ways from basketball, principally in the absence of the backboards from the hoop or goal ring and the prohibition of dribbling, bouncing, and running while in possession of the ball. Physical player contact is more controlled than in basketball. In addition, netball not only identifies the different positions of its players, but also defines where and in which areas of the court specific players are allowed to be when they compete.
A netball court's dimensions. The court is divided into thirds and shooting circles are at each end.
The objective of a game is to score more goals than the opposition. Goals are scored when a team member positioned in the attacking shooting circle shoots the ball through the goal ring. The goal rings are 380 millimetres (15in) in diameter and sit atop 3.05-metre (10.0ft)-high goal posts that have no backboards.[16] A 4.9-metre (16ft)-radius semi-circular "shooting circle" is an area at each end of the court. The goal posts are located within the shooting circle. Each team defends one shooting circle and attacks the other.[16] The netball court is 30.5 metres (100ft) long, 15.25 metres (50.0ft) wide, and divided lengthwise into thirds. The ball is usually made of leather or rubber, measures 680 to 710 millimetres (27 to 28in) in circumference (≈22 centimetres (8.7in) in diameter), and weighs 397 to 454 grams (14.0 to 16.0oz).[17][18] A normal game consists of four 15-minute quarters[17][19] and can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium.
Each team is allowed seven players on the court.[20] Each player is assigned a specific position, which limits their movement to a certain area of the court. A "bib" worn by each player contains a one- or two-letter abbreviation indicating this position.[21] Only two positions are permitted in the attacking shooting circle, and can therefore shoot for a goal. Similarly, only two positions are permitted in the defensive shooting circle; they try to prevent the opposition from shooting goals. Other players are restricted to two-thirds of the court, with the exception of the centre, who may move anywhere on the court except for a shooting circle.[22]
Australia v England 12 October 2011 test match held in Canberra
At the beginning of every quarter and after a goal has been scored, play starts with a player in the centre position passing the ball from the centre of the court. These "centre passes" alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. When the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, four players from each team can move into the centre third to receive the pass. The centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third.[23][24] The ball is then moved up and down the court through passing and must be touched by a player in each adjacent third of the court. Players can hold the ball for only three seconds at any time. It must be released before the foot they were standing on when they caught it touches the ground again.[17] Contact between players is only permitted if it does not impede an opponent or the general play. When defending a pass or shot players must be at least 90 centimetres (35in) away from the player with the ball. If illegal contact is made, the player who contacted cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed or shot the ball.[25] If the ball is held in two hands and either dropped or a shot at goal is missed, the same player cannot be the first to touch it unless it first rebounds off the goal.[26]
Equipment
Aside from the court and nets, netball uses a ball that is around 70cm in circumference and weighs 400 to 450 grams. Balls are made from leather, rubber, or similar material.
A player typically wears a jersey or tank top with a skort or shorts. Players may alternatively wear specialist one-piece netball dresses, particularly at higher levels. These are accompanied by socks and trainers. Specialist netball dresses and jerseys usually have Velcro to attach a fabric patch bearing their position letter(s), which can instead be worn on bibs when wearing clothes without Velcro.
Netball's early development emerged from Clara Baer's misinterpretation of the early rules of James Naismith's new sport of basketball (which he developed while studying in Massachusetts) and eventually evolved into its own sport. Basketball was invented in 1891 by Naismith in the United States. The game was initially played indoors between two teams of nine players, using an association football that was thrown into closed-end peach baskets.[27] Naismith's game spread quickly across the United States and variations of the rules soon emerged. At the same time, physical education instructor Senda Berenson developed modified rules for women in 1892. Berenson's rules eventually gave rise to women's basketball, and separate intercollegiate rules for basketball for men and women developed around the same time.[28]
Clara Baer was a sports teacher living in New Orleans when she wrote to Naismith asking for a copy of the rules for his game of basketball. Once she received them, they included a diagram of the court with lines across it which were meant to show the areas various players could best patrol. She misinterpreted the lines and believed they marked out restricted areas of play which players could not leave. Her mistake marks the beginning of netball. Baer's version for the rules of women's basketball defined these areas as restricted zones, an error which then became ratified into the rules for women's basketball in 1899 and proliferated.[29]
Women in England playing netball on a grass court, 1910
Martina Bergman-Österberg introduced a version of basketball in 1893 to her female students at the Physical Training College in Hampstead, London.[30] The rules of the game were modified at the college over several years: the game moved outdoors and was played on grass; the baskets were replaced by rings that had nets; and in 1897 and 1899, rules from women's basketball in the United States were incorporated.[28][31] Österberg's new sport acquired the name "net ball".[32] The first codified rules of netball were published in 1901 by the Ling Association, later the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom.[33][34] From England, netball spread to other countries in the British Empire. Variations of the rules and even names for the sport arose in different areas: "women's (outdoor) basketball" arrived in Australia around 1900 and in New Zealand from 1906,[33][35] while "netball" was being played in Jamaican schools by 1909.[36]
A goal is scored at a women's netball game in New Zealand, circa 1920s.
From the start, it was considered socially appropriate for women to play netball; netball's restricted movement appealed to contemporary notions of women's participation in sports, and the sport was distinct from potential rival male sports.[33][37] Netball became a popular women's sport in countries where it was introduced and spread rapidly through school systems. School leagues and domestic competitions emerged during the first half of the 20th century,[38][39] and in 1924 the first national governing body was established in New Zealand.[35] International competition was initially hampered by a lack of funds and varying rules in different countries. Australia hosted New Zealand in the first international game of netball in Melbourne on 20 August 1938; Australia won 40–11.[35] Efforts began in 1957 to standardise netball rules globally: by 1960 international playing rules had been standardised, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball, later the International Netball Federation (INF), was formed to administer the sport worldwide.[13]
Representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies were part of a 1960 meeting in Sri Lanka that standardised the rules for the game.[40] The game spread to other African countries in the 1970s.[41][42] South Africa was prohibited from competing internationally from 1969 to 1994 due to apartheid.[43][44] In the United States, Netball's popularity also increased during the 1970s, particularly in the New York area, and the United States of America Netball Association was created in 1992.[45] The game also became popular in the Pacific Island nations of the Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa during the 1970s.[46]Netball Singapore was created in 1962,[47] and the Malaysian Netball Association was created in 1978.[48]
In Australia, the term women's basketball was used to refer to both netball and basketball.[49] During the 1950s and 1960s, a movement arose to change the Australian name of the game from women's basketball to netball in order to avoid confusion between the two sports. The Australian Basketball Union offered to pay the costs involved to alter the name, but the netball organisation rejected the change.[49] In 1970, the Council of the All Australia Netball Association officially changed the name to "netball" in Australia.[33]
In 1963, the first international tournament was held in Eastbourne, England. Originally called the World Tournament, it later became known as the World Netball Championships.[50] Following the first tournament, one of the organisers, Miss R. Harris, declared,
England could learn from the mistakes in the past from the empty stands at Eastbourne. To get the right publicity and the right status desired, the game must emerge from the school playground. Netball should be part of a sports centre where social events could also be held.[50]
The sport was created for girls and women and remains most popular among this demographic, with women's netball at elite and national levels receiving outside funding. Though male netball teams exist in some areas, men's and mixed-sex teams are largely self-funded.[53] Men's netball started to grow in Australia during the 1980s, with the first men's championship being held in 1985.[54][53] Other countries with men's national teams include Canada, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.[55]
In 2004, New Zealand and Fiji sent teams to compete in the Australian Mixed and Men's National Championships.[53] By 2006, mixed netball teams in Australia had as many male participants as rugby union.[56][57]
At the Gay Games VI in Sydney in 2000, netball and volleyball were the two sports with the highest rates of transgender athletes participating.[59] There were eight teams of indigenous players, with seven identifying as transgender.[59] They came from places like Palm Island in northern Queensland, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.[59] Teams with transgender players were allowed to participate in several divisions including men's, mixed and transgender; they were not allowed to compete against women's teams.[59]
Indoor netball is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is often surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, permitting faster play by reducing playing stoppages.[60]
Different forms of indoor netball exist. In a seven-per-side version called "action netball", seven players per team play most standard rules, except a game is split into fifteen-minute halves around a three-minute break. This version is played in Australia,[61] New Zealand,[62] South Africa[63] and England.[64]
A six-per-side version of the sport is also played in New Zealand. Two Centres per team can play in the whole court except the shooting circles; the remaining attacking and defending players are each restricted to one half of the court, including the shooting circles. The attacking and Centre players may shoot from outside the shooting circle for a two-point goal.[65][66]
A five-per-side game is also common in indoor netball. Players can move throughout the court, with the exception of the shooting circles, which are restricted to certain attacking or defending players.
Fast5 (originally called Fastnet) is a variation on the rules of netball designed to make games faster and more television-friendly. The World Netball Series promotes it to raise the sport's profile and attract more spectators and greater sponsorship.[67][68] The game is much shorter, with each quarter lasting only six minutes and only a two-minute break between quarters.[69] The coaches can give instructions from the sideline during play, and unlimited substitutions are allowed.[69] Like six-per-side indoor netball, attacking players may shoot two-point goals from outside the shooting circle.[69][70] Each team can separately nominate one "power play" quarter, in which each goal scored by that team is worth double points and the centre pass is taken by the team that conceded the goal.[69]
Netball has been adapted in several ways to meet children's needs. The rules for children are similar to those for adults, but various aspects of the game (such as the length of each quarter, goal height, and ball size) are modified.
Fun Net is a version of netball developed by Netball Australia for five- to seven-year-olds. It aims to improve basic netball skills using games and activities.[71] The Fun Net program runs for 8–16 weeks. There are no winners or losers. The goal posts are 2.4 metres (7ft 10in) high, and a smaller ball is used.[72]
Netball Australia also runs a modified game called Netta aimed at 8- to 11-year-olds.[73] The goal height and ball size are the same as for adults, but players rotate positions during the game, permitting each player to play each position.[74] Netta was created to develop passing and catching skills. Its rules permit six seconds between catching and passing the ball, instead of the three seconds permitted in the adult game.[73] Most players under 11 play this version at netball clubs.[74]
A version called High Five Netball is promoted by the All England Netball Association.[75] It is aimed at 9- to 11-year-old girls and includes only five positions.[75] The players swap positions during the game.[76] When a player is not on the court, she is expected to help the game in some other way, such as being the timekeeper or scorekeeper.[75] High Five Netball has four six-minute quarters.[75][76]
Walking netball is a slower-paced version of netball designed to encourage participation by older or less fit players. The rules forbid running or jumping, and allow an extra step with the ball and 4 seconds, rather than 3, to hold the ball.[77][78]
Governance
The recognised international governing body of netball is World Netball, based in Manchester, England.[34] Founded in 1960, the organisation was initially called the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball.[13] The INF is responsible for compiling world rankings for national teams, maintaining the rules for netball and organising several major international competitions.
As of July 2019, the INF has 53 full and 19 associate national members in five regions.[79] Each region has an INF regional federation.[80]
Netball is a popular participant sport in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.[82][83] Non-Commonwealth entities with full IFNA membership include Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the United States, along with former Commonwealth members Zimbabwe, Ireland and Hong Kong.[84] According to the IFNA, over 20million people play netball in more than 80 countries.[13][14] International tournaments are held among countries in each of the five IFNA regions, either annually or every four years. School leagues and national club competitions have been organised in England,[85] Australia,[33] New Zealand[35] and Jamaica[36] since the early twentieth century. Franchise-based netball leagues did not emerge until the late 1990s. These competitions sought to increase the profile of the sport in their respective countries. Despite widespread local interest, participation was largely amateur.[86]
Netball was first included in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and has been included ever since; it is currently one of the "core" sports that must be contested at each edition of the Games.[87]
The Confederation of African Netball Associations organises a major African tournament, which invites teams from Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and the Seychelles to take part.[88] The tournament is hosted by a country within the region; senior and under 21 teams compete.[88] The tournament has served as a qualifier for the World Championships.[89] South Africa launched a new domestic competition in 2011 called Netball Grand Series. It features eight regional teams from South Africa and is aimed at increasing the amount of playing time for players. It runs for 17 weeks and replaces the National Netball League, which was played over only two weeks. According to Proteas captain Elsje Jordaan, it was hoped that the competition would create an opportunity for players to become professional.[90]
The Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) hosts two tournaments each year: the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Under 16 Championship and the AFNA Senior Championship.[91] The CNA championship involves two divisions of teams from the Caribbean islands. In 2010 five teams competed in two rounds of round robin matches in the Championship Division, while four teams competed in the Developmental Division.[92] Jamaica, which has lost only once in the tournament,[93] decided not to play the 2011 tournament.[92] The AFNA Senior Championship includes Canada and the US along with the Caribbean nations. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the World Championship. Jamaica, with its high ranking, does not have to qualify; this leaves two spots to the other teams in the tournament.[94]
The Asian Netball Championship is held every four years. The seventh Asian games were held in 2009 and featured Singapore, Thailand, Maldives, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, India and Pakistan.[95] There is also an Asian Youth Netball Championship for girls under 21 years of age, the seventh of which was held in 2010.[96]
The major netball competition in Europe is the Netball Superleague, which features teams from England, Wales and Scotland.[97][98] The league was created in 2005.[32] Matches are broadcast on Sky Sports.[99]
Netball has been featured at the Pacific Games, a multi-sport event with participation from 22 countries from around the South Pacific.[100] The event is held every four years and has 12 required sports; the host country chooses the other four. Netball is not a required sport and has missed selection, particularly when former French or American territories host the games.[101]
The ANZ Championship was a Trans-Tasman competition held between 2008 and 2016 that was broadcast on television in both New Zealand and Australia. It was contested among ten teams from Australia and New Zealand. It began in April 2008, succeeding Australia's Commonwealth Bank Trophy and New Zealand's National Bank Cup as the pre-eminent netball league in those countries.[102] The competition was held annually between April and July, consisting of 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries, with increased media coverage and player salaries.[103][104] The competition was replaced by new leagues in 2017, the Suncorp Super Netball (Australia) and ANZ Premiership (New Zealand).
Netball's important competition is the Netball World Cup (previously known as the World Netball Championships), held every four years. It was first held in 1963 at the Chelsea College of Physical Education at Eastbourne, England, with eleven nations competing. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australian and New Zealand teams, which hold ten and four titles, respectively. Trinidad and Tobago is the only other team to win a championship title. That title, won in 1979, was shared with New Zealand and Australia; all three teams finished with equal points at the end of the round robin, and there were no finals.[105]
The Fast5 Series is a competition among the top six national netball teams, as ranked by the INF World Rankings.[106] It is organised by the INF in conjunction with the national governing bodies of the six competing nations, UK Sport, and the host city's local council.[107] The All England Netball Association covers air travel, accommodation, food and local travel expenses for all teams, while the respective netball governing bodies cover player allowances.[108] It is held over three days, with each team playing each other once during the first two days in a round-robin format. The four highest-scoring teams advance to the semi-finals; the winners face each other in the Grand Final.[109] The competition features modified fastnet rules and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens.[110][111] A new format featuring shorter matches with modified rules was designed to make the game more appealing to spectators and television audiences.[110] The World Netball Series was held annually in England from 2009 to 2011.
Netball's governing federation gained Olympic recognition in 1995 after 20 years of lobbying.[33][112] Although it has never been played at the Summer Olympics, politicians and administrators have been campaigning unsuccessfully to have it included.[113][114] Its absence from the Olympics has been seen by the netball community as a hindrance in the global growth of the game by limiting access to media attention and funding sources.[41][115][116] Some funding sources became available with recognition in 1995,[117] including the International Olympic Committee, national Olympic committees, national sport organisations, and state and federal governments.[117][118]
↑ Numbers are taken where available from the 48 member nations of the International Federation of Netball Associations.[2] (Cook Islands 1,000,[3] Fiji 5,000,[4] New Zealand 135,000,[5] Papua New Guinea 10,000,[6] Samoa 2,000,[7] England 75,000,[8] Scotland 1,800,[9] Australia 330,000,[10] Hong Kong 1,200,[11]). No current numbers are available for Vanuatu, Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Gibraltar, Malta, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Wales, Switzerland, China, India, Malaysia, Republic of the Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Argentina, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and the United States.
↑ International Netball (September 2006). "netball rules". International Netball. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
↑ School Sport Australia (2011). "Netball". Archived from the original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
↑ International Federation of Netball Associations (10 December 2010e). "Netball Weekly Roundup". Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
↑ International Federation of Netball Associations (15 June 2008). "History of Netball". Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
↑ World Netball Championships 2011 Singapore (2011). "History". Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ International Federation of Netball Associations (14 January 2009c). "Netball as never seen before". International Federation of Netball Associations. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
↑ International Federation of Netball Associations (3 April 2009d). "Calling All Netball Fans!". International Federation of Netball Associations. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
1 2 Shooting for Success (July 2004). "IFNA Recognition Confirmed"(PDF). International Federation of Netball Associations. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
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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 Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and the New Zealand national netball team, Trinidad and Tobago is the only other team to have won a title. The most recent tournament was the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, which was won by Australia.
The 2007 World Netball Championships was the 12th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). Sixteen nations contested the title from 10 to the 17 November. It was held in the West Auckland, New Zealand. Forty-eight matches over 8 days were played in The Trusts Stadium, Waitakere. The event was broadcast to over half a dozen countries
The 2011 World Netball Championships was the 13th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Singapore was chosen as the host nation at the 2007 IFNA Congress in Auckland.
Indoor netball is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, reducing the number of playing stoppages. This gives indoor netball a faster pace than netball.
Netball is the most popular women's team participation sport in Australia. In 1985, there were 347,000 players, and in 1995, there were over 360,000 Australian netball players. Throughout most of Australia's netball history, the game has largely been a participation sport; it has not managed to become a large spectator sport. In 2005 and 2006, 56,100 Australians attended one to two netball matches, of these, 41,600 were women. 46,200 attended three to five netball matches, with 34,400 of those spectators being women. 86,400 attended six or more netball matches, with 54,800 spectators being female. Overall, 188,800 people attended netball matches, with 130,800 being female. In 2005 and 2006, netball was the 10th most popular spectator sport for women with Australian rules football (1,011,300), horse racing (912,200), rugby league (542,600), motor sports (462,100), rugby union (232,400), football (212,200), harness racing (190,500), cricket (183,200) and tennis (163,500) all being more popular. The country set an attendance record for a Netball match with a record crowd of 14,339 at the Australia–New Zealand Netball Test held at the Sydney Super Dome game in 2004.
The history of netball can be traced to the early development of basketball. A year after basketball was invented in 1891, the sport was modified for women to accommodate social conventions regarding their participation in sport, giving rise to women's basketball. Variations of women's basketball arose across the United States and in England. At the Madame Österberg Physical Training College Dartford, England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball". The sport was invented to encourage young females to be physically active and energetic. The first codified rules of netball were published at the start of the twentieth century, and from there the new sport spread throughout the British Empire.
The Fast5 Netball World Series is an annual international Fast5 netball competition. The competition, which began in October 2009, features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The competition is contested by the six top national netball teams in the world, according to the INF World Rankings.
The 2009 World Netball Series was the inaugural tournament of the World Netball Series. The 2009 Series was held at MEN Arena in Manchester, England from 9–11 October, and was the first major trial of the new FastNet rules that were announced by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) in 2008. New Zealand won the 2009 tournament with a 32–27 victory over Jamaica in the gold medal playoff.
Fast5 is a variation of netball featuring shortened games and goals worth multiple points. The new format was announced by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) in 2008, and was primarily developed for a new international competition, the Fast5 Netball World Series. The rules were revamped for 2012, with the variation being renamed Fast5.
Netball is one of the most popular women's participation sports in South Africa. The sport is also played by a large number of men. It exists in a culture where sport plays an important public and social part of life. The history of South Africa's netball involvement mirrors that of other sports played in the country like rugby union. During the apartheid era, there were many netball facilities available for whites to use, and fewer for people from other race groups. Funding issues and gender issues did not help bridge this gap.
Netball in Trinidad and Tobago is a popular sport.
Netball has never been played at the Summer Olympics, but its federation World Netball has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), since 1995 after a twenty-year period of lobbying. The netball community sees netball's absence at the Olympic Games as a hindrance to the global growth of the game, depriving it of media attention and funding. The IOC requires a high geographical scope for inclusion in the Olympics, but netball is mostly played in Commonwealth countries. When the IOC recognized netball's federation, it opened up sources of funds that the global netball community had not been able to access before, including the (IOC), national Olympic committees and sports organisations, and state and federal governments.
Netball is a popular women's sport in parts of Africa. Several African nations are ranked amongst the top thirty in the world. As of August 2016, South Africa was ranked number Five, Malawi was ranked number Six, Uganda was ranked Seven, Zambia was ranked Sixteenth, Botswana was ranked twentieth, Zimbabwe was ranked Twenty-first and Swaziland was ranked Thirtieth in the world.
Netball is popular in several parts of Asia. The IFNA Asia region includes countries such as Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The major regional competition is the Asian Netball Championship. In 1994, the first Asian Youth Championship was held in Hong Kong.
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 primarily played in Commonwealth countries, which were heavily involved in standardising the rules for netball. The Federation of European Netball Associations (FENA), sometimes referred to as Netball Europe, is the governing body for netball in the Europe netball region. The organisation was created in 1989/1990. As of August 2016, the English women's national team was ranked 3rd in the world, Wales is ranked 8th, Scotland is ranked 10th, Northern Ireland is ranked 12th, Ireland are ranked 25th, Gibraltar are ranked 31st, Malta are ranked 32nd and Switzerland are ranked 34th.
Netball is a ball sport for two teams of seven players; its rules are published in print and online by the International Netball Federation. Games are played on a rectangular court divided into thirds, with a raised goal at each short end. The objective of the game is for teams to score goals, by passing a ball and shooting it into the opposite team's goal ring. Players are assigned "positions" that define their role within the team and restrict their movement on court.
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.
Netball in Wales is organised by the Welsh Netball Association. Copies of the rule book were sold in Wales by 1903. Marion Morton was involved with early organising of the game in Wales. Between 1949 and 1976, the Wales national team lost to England on twenty-eight occasions.
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