World Netball’s silence on Global Event Strategy shows why sport stuck on the spot

World Netball’s decision to remain silent on exciting plans to commercialise its future show the battle the sport faces to move forward in a competitive women’s sport market.

One step forward, another one back.

World Netball’s (WN) decision not to engage in interviews about its Global Event Strategy is not just disappointing for fans eager to engage with the bold vision for the game, it’s another demonstration of why the sport will remain stuck in its current position as long as it continues to play the safe game.

WN may not have been entirely happy that its strategy – including plans for a new tier one competition owned in conjunction with Netball Australia, Netball England and Netball New Zealand – was laid out exclusively by this masthead earlier this week.

But once it was, the sport should be shouting from the rooftops, spruiking its position as a global leader in terms of numbers of players and possibilities for partnership and commercialisation.

The prospectus to interested investors and broadcast partners from World Netball, Netball Australia, Netball England and Netball New Zealand.

As a sport created by women, for women, netball has a unique history and place in sport.

But as other women’s sports have grown around it, netball has too often been too slow, or too polite, to capitalise on its outstanding attributes.

In a statement, WN said it had been pleased with interest from potential partners and positive feedback on the collaborative approach being taken to its Global Event Strategy.

Then just come out and say so – tell the world about the more than 23 million netballers in 100 countries across the globe.

You don’t have the resources of a global giant like FIFA but shout about the fact that your sport has significantly more women playing than play football around the world.

That about one million people around the world watched the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal match in which England’s Roses created history when upsetting the unbackable favourites, the Diamonds; or that your most recent World Cup – the first in Africa – had an overall event profit margin of almost 25 per cent.

Be aggressive about the need for netball’s pinnacle events to be played more than once every fours years in an environment in which opportunities for the commercialisation of women’s sport are greater than ever.

This sentiment is included in a statement from World Netball.

“In World Netball’s strategic plan, one of the three core strategies is to grow, with the intention to increase netball’s global participation, reach, revenue and capacity,” the statement says.

“To deliver against this strategy, WN has been exploring a number of strategies over the last 12 months and one of the key priorities identified is the development of a new global events strategy.

“WN has recognised that in order for us to significantly impact our commercial revenue, it’s important that our global event strategy is well thought out and cohesive and creates more opportunities to work with sponsors and broadcasters alike, working for both our commercial ambitions as a sport and our athletes.”

Well, duh.

The Diamonds are a leader of women’s sport in Australia Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Netball World Cup 2023 via Getty Images

If every sport – and women’s sports in particular, are not positioning themselves to capitalise on the interest in their product at this minute in time – their administrators should be sacked.

WN, and Netball Australia, Netball England and Netball New Zealand, who, this masthead understands are bound by non-disclosure agreements over the contents of the WN Event Strategy, don’t have to outline their every move in detail.

But in a world in which content is king – or queen, perhaps in this instance – you have to at least let your fans know that you have a plan to cater for them into the future.

Or risk losing them.

Can you imagine rugby league boss Peter V’landys sitting back and remaining quiet as NRL expansion plans were exposed?

No interviews thanks “discussions are ongoing and will progress during 2025. Further information will be shared when appropriate”.

These are actual lines out of the WN statement.

Players, administrators, fans – every stakeholder in the game – should be shouting about the potential of this unique sport and spreading what should be enormous excitement at plans to expand commercially and competitively.

They’re not set in concrete, may not even come off. But at least stakeholders would know that netball’s leaders are being proactive.

Instead, the sport’s administrators seem content to sit back and wait for things to happen.

“Here if you need.”

It’s not a call that business kingpins or broadcasting decision-makers are likely to even hear, let alone heed.

Originally published as World Netball’s silence on Global Event Strategy shows why sport stuck on the spot