By Dame Liz Nicholl originally published by the Telegraph
To be in the Olympic or Paralympic Games is an ambition for every athlete and if ever there is an Olympic opportunity for netball, it is in 2032 with the event being hosted in Brisbane, Australia.
Australia is the top ranked team in the World Netball World Rankings, and netball is the number one female sport for participation in Australia.
Independent polling also shows that 66% of Australian’s want netball in the Brisbane 2032 Games – that’s two thirds of the country.
World Netball has a growing global audience, in terms of membership, participants and spectators, with our reach now extending far beyond our commonwealth roots.
Across our five Regions we have 77 Members world-wide, and all five of our Regions are represented in the top five of our World Netball World Rankings, highlighting the global and competitive nature of our sport.
Around the world netball fans continue to break records and fill stadiums year on year too.
The UK’s Netball Super League has just hosted England Netball’s biggest ticketed event ever, with over 9,800 fans attending the Grand Final at the iconic O2 Arena, in New Zealand the average attendance for ANZ Premiership 2025 games was up by 15% year on year and in Australia the Suncorp Super Netball had a total season attendance of 386,455, which was higher than ever before.
Whilst we are a sport that is proud of our female focused foundations, it is important to also celebrate the growth of the men’s game too as we are a sport that is open to all.
World Netball is actively working to intentionally build men into its ecosystem and provide them with an elite platform to showcase their skills to the world, and we are currently developing plans to host a first men’s Netball World Cup.
As our Members continue to break records and push boundaries, it is my duty as President of World Netball, alongside the Board, to prioritise the pursuit of Olympic Games inclusion.
We are working closely with the International Olympic Committee and Brisbane 2032 Local Organising Committee (LOC), cementing our strong intentions for Olympic inclusion.
Thank you to the over 115,000 people that have signed the pledge and backed the bid so far, you are helping us on our journey to creating history.
If you haven’t already, please join us on this journey and sign the pledge.
It’s netball’s time.
