Chronicle Editor
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
HARD on the heels of cricket’s call for inclusion in the Olympic Games, World Netball has taken a similar position and declared its intention to work with Netball Australia to make a compelling case for netball’s inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
As the first step towards Olympic inclusion, a sport has to be governed by an IOC “recognised” federation, and World Netball achieved this recognition in 1995 and has enjoyed a good relationship with the IOC.
World Netball president Liz Nicholl said: “All our member nations are excited at the potential of being part of the Olympic Family in 2032.
We are committed to ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement.”
World Netball acknowledges that the best opportunity to showcase netball on the Olympic stage will come when the host nation is a strong netball nation and one that supports and proposes netball’s inclusion to the IOC as one of its additional sports.
As Netball Australia currently holds the number one world ranking and Sydney has already been confirmed as the host venue for the 2027
Netball World Cup, the Brisbane Games provide the perfect opportunity.
“World Netball is aware that organising committee and IOC decisions on this matter will be made many years from now and so we will use the time available to work with our colleagues at Netball Australia to present a compelling case for inclusion,” said Nicholl.
Netball is a sport that was originally developed by women for women and girls at a time when their opportunities to participate in and achieve through sport were very limited.
The sport initially spread across the Commonwealth through the education sector, but soon developed and grew.
It now has more than 20 million participants across 76-member nations and five continents and TV, digital audiences and social media followers are rapidly growing.
Netball is a core sport in the Commonwealth Games programme and the five top performing nations at world level are spread across five continents.
Netball’s World Cup attracts record crowds.
When the event was held in Liverpool in 2019, over 100 000 tickets were sold to over 30 000 unique spectators from across 40 nations; over 6 million people watched and/or followed the event which achieved a Net Promoter Score of 81 percent.
Over 30 000 adults were inspired by the event to start playing netball or play netball more, and 60 percent of spectators were inspired to increase their participation in sport or active recreation as a result of attending the event.
Zimbabwe qualified for the Liverpool Netball World Cup, a maiden qualification for the showpiece and their good showing saw the then vice-captain Felistas Kwangwa being snapped up by a top side in the UK.
“World Netball’s recently launched strategy focuses on further growing global participation, reach, revenue, impact and capacity. It also commits to the sport being ‘open to all’, with a focus on three core strategies to grow, to Play and to inspire, all underpinned by great governance.
“Over recent years the number of participants and member nations has increased and more men and boys are participating in netball. There is significant growth potential, and World Netball is committed to supporting increased engagement from men and boys, while building on its female-focused foundations that have shaped the culture and values of the sport,” Nicholl’s statement read.
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