England Netball Eyes Professionalism
England Netball has announced plans for a relaunch of the Netball Super League (NSL) from 2025, which will act as part of the first step to the sport becoming fully professional.
Following the Netball World Cup this summer, in which England’s Vitality Roses won a historic silver medal after reaching their very first World Cup final, England Netball has revealed the initial phase of its plan to elevate the domestic game in the UK to a professional level.
The NSL will be relaunched in 2025, with England Netball setting goals to rival Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball and ‘build the most competitive, commercially vibrant and captivating professional netball league in the world’.
The new plans aim to improve the league with ‘on and off court enhancements’ which includes clubs playing in bigger venues and arenas, better salaries, and increased competition across the teams in hopes to translate into the elite game.
Fran Connolly, CEO of England Netball, commented on the announcement, “Transformational yet sustainable change will take time, but we believe that going through a tender process will enable us to set new standards for the future and ensure we deliver a competitive league with clubs that are ready and able to embrace the professional era. With this next chapter, it’s right that we give existing clubs the opportunity to fully consider, and demonstrate, whether they have the desire and capabilities to embark with us on the professionalisation journey, whilst remaining open to the interesting prospect that any new clubs may present. Collectively, we can shape an exciting future for the league both in terms of quality and ambition.”
Liz Bloor, Managing Director at the Netball Players Association added, ‘’This provides the long-awaited opportunity for elite netballers to become professional athletes in the UK, to showcase their talents in bigger venues in front of their fans and to earn a living playing the sport they love. For all the youngsters up and down the country who love netball, greater visibility of their heroes and the chance to dream of a netball career will be so inspiring.’’
Existing clubs that believe they can play a part of the are being encouraged to express their interest to participate in the relaunched league from 2025.
Last week, England Netball announced long term agreement with video streaming services provider Joymo.
Subscribe to the Sport Industry Daily for regular updates on the biggest stories and latest news in the sport industry.
