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.
The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Series and the Fast5 Netball World Series. They have also represented New Zealand at the World Games. New Zealand made their test debut in 1938. As of 2023, New Zealand have been world champions on five occasions and Commonwealth champions twice. They are regularly ranked number two in the World Netball Rankings.
The Cape Verde national football team represents Cape Verde in men's international football, and is controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has qualified for four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023. The team achieved their best result in 2023 after making it past the first round of the knockout stage.
Tracey Anne Neville is a former England netball international and a former England head coach. As a player, she was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World Netball Championships. As a head coach she guided Northern Thunder/Manchester Thunder to Netball Superleague titles in 2012 and 2014. Between 2015 and 2019 she served as England head coach. She subsequently guided England to the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and to bronze medals at the 2015 and 2019 Netball World Cups. In 2016 she was awarded an.
The England national netball team, also known as the Vitality Roses, represent England Netball in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Quad Series, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the Fast5 Netball World Series and the European Netball Championship. They have also competed at the World Games. England made their Test debut in 1949. Their best result in a major tournament is a gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. As of 17 October 2024, England are ranked second in the World Netball Rankings.
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.
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 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 South Africa national netball team, also known as the SPAR Proteas, represent Netball South Africa in international netball tournaments, such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Quad Series and the Fast5 Netball World Series. Their best result in a major tournament is a silver medal at the 1995 World Netball Championships. As of 1 March 2024, South Africa are currently fifth in the World Netball Rankings.
The Malawi national netball team, nicknamed "The Queens", represent Malawi in international netball competitions.
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 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 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.
Ghana's most popular sport is football, followed by boxing, Athletics, Badminton and basketball.
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.
Bongiwe Msomi is a former South Africa netball international and current netball coach. Between 2011 and 2023, Msomi made 171 senior appearances for South Africa. She represented South Africa at the 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 Netball World Cups and at 2014, 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was a member of the South Africa teams that medalled at the 2012 World University Netball Championship and the 2012 Fast5 Netball World Series. Between 2016 and 2023 she captained South Africa. When she retired, she was South Africa's most capped netball international. Msomi was also a member of two Netball Superleague title winning teams – in 2015 with Surrey Storm and in 2017 with Wasps Netball. In 2022 she captained Gauteng Golden Fireballs when they won the Telkom Netball League title. Since 2019, Msomi has served as netball head coach at the University of Johannesburg.
The Lesotho women's national football team, also known affectionately as Mehalalitoe, represents Lesotho in international women's football. Governed by the Lesotho Football Association (LFA), the team has demonstrated steady progress in recent years, particularly within the regional Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) competitions.
The Zambia women's national association football team represents Zambia in association football, participating in qualifying tournaments for the FIFA Women's World Cup and other African-based competitions. It made its debut in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, becoming the first landlocked nation in Africa to qualify for a senior World Cup in either men's or women's soccer.
Netball in Kenya is primarily played by girls. The Kenya Netball Association changed its name to its current one in 1966, and became the first African nation to join the International Federation of Netball Associations. Club netball is played in the country. The national team has qualified for the Commonwealth Games.
Sports in Botswana is diverse and reasonably well-developed. Though football, netball and athletics remain the most popular sports, numerous other sporting codes, including cricket, rugby, judo, swimming and tennis are active in the national sporting landscape. The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), together with the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) are responsible for the overall management of sport in the country. In addition, there over 30 National Sport Federations (NSFs) and three school sport federations
