World Netball boss on Olympics bid

By Linda Pearce

New World Netball (WN) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fiona Harold acknowledges the irony in what she so frequently hears: that if a sport that famously champions women and girls fails in its Brisbane 2032 Olympics bid, inequality may be partly to blame.

Or in this rare case, female success that dwarfs the poorer relation that is the men’s game.

Hence the complex consideration around greater investment in men’s netball, as Harold told netball.com.au during an Australian visit that included a meeting with Brisbane 2032 officials and Netball Australia’s Liz Ellis and Stacey West - talks switched from face-to-face to a video call by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.

“It may be that we push through that and demonstrate that as a female-first sport, we can add a huge amount of value to the IOC and to a Brisbane 2032 Games,’’ says Harold, a UK-based administrator with a strong commercial focus and experience honed through roles ranging from golf and soccer to Sport England and IMG.

Not only does the bid align with WN’s Articles of Association, but the opportunity presented by the Olympics being staged in a nation where the sport is No.1 among women and girls, and a potential gold medal opportunity beckons for the host nation, she says, “how do you fast forward seven years and explain to young girls why netball’s not in the Olympics when all other major sports are?

“So it's something we need to be creative about in our bid, but it also forces the question of how are we going to address the men and boys’ game going forward from a broader strategic point of view?’’

More on that later, for there is much else to discuss, including fleshing out that quest for an Olympic debut. Men and boys’ netball is not the only potential barrier, with rivals queueing up for inclusion in what will be the Games’ smallest ever host city, and one where infrastructure continues to be a hot-button issue.

“There’ll be huge pressure from other international federations for additional sport inclusion, especially with LA (2028) having invited five extra sports in,’’ Harold says.

“So, we understand that it's a huge challenge, but we've made it very clear that we're starting the journey, we're in the room, we're not going anywhere and we're not going to be deterred by any barriers. 

“It's now on us to go away and actually think long and hard about what an application and a bid would take before we move to the next step.’’

In a regular Olympic cycle, this year would be decision-time for confirmation of the 28 core sports as well as the process and timings for additional sport inclusions.

Instead, it will be in 2026, which Harold insists is helpful for netball given the longer “runway” through which to gather thoughts and hone strategies. Much can still change, not least because a new IOC president will be elected this week.

So, if part of the case against inclusion has always been its limited footprint outside the Commonwealth, Harold counters with her belief that netball would in fact expand the Olympics’ reach.

There has, she says, been no entry condition of a condensed format such as FAST5. But, however realistic or not, the campaign has begun, with West likening recent events to putting “a stake in the ground” and Ellis declaring a bold “why not?” approach given netball’s stature locally.

“We are absolutely starting our engagement process with the International Olympic Committee, the Australian Olympic Committee, and the local organising committee of Brisbane 2032,’’ West says.

“So, we’ve commenced those meetings and netball is shaping how it will approach potential inclusion in the Games.’’

All this while grappling with the linked issue of men and boys’ participation and development, on which opinions differ so greatly. 

“This is one that I think everyone has conflicting views over and struggles with,’’ says Harold.

“The way I see it is that if we're defining netball as a women's sport made for women by women, and if that is the position to commercial partners and for the strategic development of the game going forward that we are continuing to zone in on women and girls, then you remain accessible to all and you’re an inclusive sport, but at a membership national governing body level, it's not going to be in your plan to divert resources into developing men's pathways and we have to be clear about that.

“But you've also then got a community of people in men and boys who want to play your sport. They're avidly engaged with it and they are a community that should be within the netball ecosystem. 

“You don't want fragmentation, you don't want them going off starting their own associations, and they are a commercial opportunity as well because they could unlock new audiences. They could create new event opportunities. You've got to consider all the different factors. 

“Obviously the Olympic conversation then skews that slightly over time, even beyond 2032, 2036, 2040, if ultimately we've got to get to 50-50 (gender equity), then we have to be very clear about our position as a sport because that then potentially bumps out the Olympic conversation altogether if you're saying that you're not going to include men.’’

Harold also makes the valid point that “if it was a men's sport saying that they weren't really sure what to do with women or how much to include them, there'd be uproar’’, and the CEO’s conversations with the various men’s organisations have shown them to be respectful of netball, its history and heritage.

“They don't want to cannibalise us as a sport. They want to work with us collaboratively and that's what we are encouraging our Members to do,’’ Harold says, floating ideas such as a men’s Netball World Cup as an appropriately-timed entry point.

“But there needs to ultimately be a more formal decision and position from World Netball as to what we want to do with the men and boys game going forward, because it feels like we've been in limbo and that needs addressing.’’

It’s a subject already on the lengthy agenda for the next WN board meeting on April 4, as another delicate balancing act plays out: between keeping faith with longstanding and often treasured traditions, and the need for growth and innovation amid marketplace disruptors and investors eyeing different prizes.

“The fans of 50 years ago are not the fans of today, necessarily, and you’ve got to serve all audiences, right? So when you're looking at your content strategy from both a production and distribution point of view, you’ve still got to think about the older more traditional audience, but you've got your Gen Z and your Gen Alpha coming through who are consuming in a different way and have multiple platforms and entertainment properties battling for their attention in bite sized ways.

“So yes, traditions need to be respected, 100 per cent, but they need to be challenged and they need to evolve, and in a number of areas - whether it's rule innovations, whether it's the format for the Netball World Cup, we’ve got to have the conversations and I'm prepared to have them and then make decisions that aren’t necessarily going to be popular with everyone involved across the global game 

“They shouldn't be confrontational conversations, it’s simply a case of interrogating ‘Why do we do this? Do we still need to do it? Who is it for?’ If we do it, let's talk about how we evolve it to remain relevant and to modernise’, because ultimately, we don't want to become irrelevant as a sport and the landscape is as dynamic and challenging as it’s ever been’’

Part 2 releasing on Monday: Netball World Cup 2027, Commonwealth Games future, Continental Cup, Aussie takeaways.