Netball Australia is millions of dollars in debt and cannot look at expansion for years

As Netball Australia pushes for the sport to be added to the 2032 Olympics, the growth of men’s netball is key. But Australia can’t do it alone.

Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan - the only female head of a major sports code in Australia - has revealed the extent of the sport’s debt after almost two seasons in a Covid enforced bubble.

Constant travel and endless time in hotels was an inevitable drain on resources which Ryan estimates will take four or five years to recover from.

But brutal and unapologetic, she says the sport’s plan is simple: “The number one objective is to keep the show on the road”.

“Everybody will have to compromise.”

In a broad ranging interview with News Corp, Kelly revealed;

• Covid had ripped a multimillion-dollar hole in Netball Australia’s budget;

• Expansion of Suncorp Super Netball is likely to be delayed for years;

• Developing men’s and boys’ netball was the golden ticket for 2032 Olympic inclusion.

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Q: There was quite a backlash with the league denying GWS’s request to postpone their Round 2 match despite half their team sidelined with Covid. Was it the right call?

A: I’ll keep coming back to this ... there was full alignment with all eight teams and ourselves that the number one objective ... and what everyone wanted was to get back to Home And Away fixtures, to have fans in the stands, teams at home and not living in a bubble.

We said from the outset, if we want certainty around this fixture, then we can put everyone in a hub but that is not what everybody wanted ... they wanted to repay their fans, their members, corporate partners, and be back in their home venues.

This means everybody will have to compromise to deliver on that. We’re incredibly comfortable with where we sit.

We’ve said from the outset, nothing is going to be ideal this year and our reality is that Covid still exists. We have to really be clear that this is likely not to be the outlier of the season. This is likely to be the norm.

So therefore we’ve just gotta find a way with our new norm.

Q: Since Covid-19, sport across the world has faced havoc, none more so than women’s sport, which has been pushed to the margins. What has been the impact for netball?
A: It’s big for us, we will be running at a significant deficit for the 2020-2021 financial year.

First and foremost we’ve taken on extra costs because of Covid.

We’ve alleviated costs from all of our member organisations, we’ve reduced fees and also eliminated fees normally paid to netball Australia.

We’ve done that so member organisations can continue to shore up their own individual finances and reinvest back in the participation space.

So both of these economic aspects does mean Netball Australia takes a significant impact, which will take us a couple of years, three, four, maybe even five years to actually repay.

Q: Significant deficit, by this you mean six figures?
A: We are still completing our audit but it will be in the millions.

The Giants were decimated by Covid yet had to play on

Q: What does this mean for expansion?

There’s enormous potential in growing our game. We have an enormous participation base that doesn’t actually support the elite end of the competition, which is very rare. Normally, it’s the other way around.

We have more people playing than watching and attending ... so we really want to unlock the participation base to support the elite end. And we think that that’s where our focus is best served at the moment with the existing eight teams.

Q: Is the super shot here to stay? On a serious note, should the premier domestic netball competition play by the same rules of international competition to better prepare our Diamonds?

A:I think it’s beneficial that we actually have the ability to free up the system and actually try new things and have a bit of creative license. Netball will continue to evolve and Australia is leading that evolution.

There’s a lot more discussion around actually including men and boys in our game ... and this just shows how progressive Australia is when it comes to netball across the world. Obviously our athletes love it because they keep coming back, including the international players.

Q: Speaking of international players, should there be a cap?
A: No, I don’t think a cap would do anything for the competition. We benefit from the best international talent wanting to come here, it lifts the bar for everyone else and the dominant base is people from Australia playing in our own competition.

Diamonds netball team photos

Q: You mentioned developing men’s and boys netball, is that with an eye on 2032?
A: Our sport should be inclusive and while there is already a good base playing and engaging with netball, there is room for growth and this means actually adopting and wrapping our arms around a broader netball nation, and the men and boys that play our game. If someone wants to play netball, they should have the opportunity to.

Q: Yes and this would also help for an Olympics bid?
A: Absolutely. We are mindful of, a commitment from the Olympics stepping into the gender equality space, even though we would also argue netball helps them achieve gender equlity. Women’s netball helps the Olympics to get to gender equlity a hell of a lot quicker because we are a predominantly a female sport. Regardless of the Olympics, this is what netball should be doing - embracing and welcoming anyone that wants to play the game. But our drive for the Olympic bid means we have to bring the whole support across the globe with us on that journey. We can’t do this on our own.

Q: What was your take on the Firebirds and Maria Folau?

A: I don’t really have much information on it to be honest. Teams are absolutely responsible for contracting and talking to whoever it is they want to talk to. We won’t get involved in the team dynamics. I definitely don’t think that’s our role.