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
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 Welsh National Netball Team, also known as the Welsh Feathers, represents Wales in international netball competition. The Welsh Netball Association, the governing body for netball in Wales, is responsible for Welsh squad selection, international matches and for the training and development of players.
Wales Netball, formally registered as the Wales Netball Association, is the national governing body for netball in Wales and was founded in 1945. Wales Netball is responsible for national championships, Wales national netball team selection, international matches, the training and development of players, coaches and umpires and for the Sport Wales National Centre Netball Academy, Cardiff.
The Sri Lanka national netball team is the national netball team of Sri Lanka. The team is coached by Hyacinth Wijesinghe and captained by Gayanjali Amarawansa. As of 01 March 2023, Sri Lanka are ranked 15th in the world.
The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation constituted through and recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ARISF's members are international sports federations recognised by the IOC whose sport is currently not competed in either the Summer or Winter Olympics, though becoming a member of ARISF does not imply or guarantee that the sport will be included in future Olympic Games.
Asia Netball, formerly the Asian Netball Federation, Asian Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) and Netball Asia, is the governing body of netball in Asia. Netball Asia was founded in 1986 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, three years after representatives from five Asian netball countries – Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India – met during the 1983 Netball World Championships in Singapore to discuss the creation of an Asian netball governing body. The current president of the AFNA is Anna Wong. The Asian Region covers a total of 49 countries. The Asian Region currently has 8 Associate Members and 10 Full Regional & INF Members.
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.
The Northern Ireland national netball team represent Northern Ireland in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the European Netball Championship and the Nations Cup. The team was founded in 1955. Northern Ireland won the Nations Cup in both 2009 and 2015 and were silver medallists at the 2012 and 2017 European Netball Championships. As of 21 July 2019, Northern Ireland are listed 11th on the INF World Rankings. Since 2019 the team has been sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and is sometimes referred to as the PwC Warriors.
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 Switzerland was founded in 2009 by a group of volunteers to promote the game of Netball within Switzerland. Netball Switzerland changed its name to Swiss Netball and joined the INF as a full member in 2011. Switzerland was ranked on the INF World rankings - www.netball.org.
The Canadian national netball team is the national netball team of Canada. Canada has both men's and women's national teams. Netball Canada is Canada's national governing body for the sport. The national team was first formed in the latter half of the 20th century.
The Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of netball in Pakistan. The Federation was formed in 1996.
The Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA), is the governing body for the organized sport of netball in the Americas. For netball's organizational purposes, the Americas Region, as agreed upon by World Netball, covers a total of fifty-four countries. The Americas Region currently has 1 Associate Member and 15 Full Regional & World Netball Members. The current president of the AFNA is Marva Bernard.
The Israel national netball team participates in International tournaments, representing the country of Israel. They are part of Netball Europe and are a full member of the International Netball Federation (INF). They are also associate members of FENA.
The Malta national netball team participates in International tournaments, representing the country of Malta. They are part of Netball Europe and are a full member of the International Netball Federation (INF). They are also associate members of FENA. Malta achieved an International Ranking position in 2012. As of 7 March 2018, they are currently ranked 37th in the INF World Rankings. The Netball Association of Malta is located is located in Sliema, Malta. The President is Ms. Sandra Farrugia, and the Secretary is Ms. Josianne Gatt. Helga Turban is the head coach of the U21 side.
The Switzerland national netball team represent Netball Switzerland in international netball tests and competitions. As of 7 March 2018, they are ranked 36th in the world. Established in 2009, Swiss Netball is a full member of the International Netball Federation (INF) and Netball Europe. Swiss Netball has worked hard to develop the game at the junior club level, as well as at senior level, and the national squad first obtained a world ranking in 2012.
Jill McIntosh is a former Australia netball international and national team head coach. As a player, McIntosh was a member of the Australia team that won the gold medal at the 1983 World Netball Championships. She later coached Australia at the 1995 and 1999 World Netball Championships and at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games, guiding the team to four gold medals. In 2009 she was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame. McIntosh subsequently worked as a coach with the International Netball Federation, Central Pulse and with the national teams of Singapore, Northern Ireland and Jamaica.
