Netball is one of the most popular ball sport in many commonwealth countries which is played by two teams of seven players. The sport is particularly popular in schools, learning institutions and is predominantly played by women. According to INF’s statistics, the sport is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries over the world. Major netball leagues and international competitions include the Netball Superleague in Great Britain, Suncorp Super Netball in Australia, the ANZ Premiership in New Zealand, the quadrennial World Netball Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the annual Quad Series and the Fast5 Series. In 1995, netball was recognized as a sport of Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, but it has not been played at the Olympics since.
Netball matches are organized on a rectangular court, at each end of the court, there is a raised goal ring. Each team must complete to score goals to the opponent’s goal ring by passing a ball down the court. Each player is assigned a specific position, which define their roles within the team and restrict their movement to certain areas of the court throughout the match. During a general match, a player can only hold the ball for less than three seconds before shooting for a goal or passing to another player. After 60 minutes of the game, the team that scores the most goals is the winning team. Besides the general match, variations have been developed to increase the game’s pace and appeal to a wider audience.
Netball was derived from early versions of basketball, back in England in the 1890s. Not until 1960 that international playing rules are standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women’s Basketball was formed. The federation later renamed as the International Netball Federation (INF). In 2019, the INF comprises more than 70 national teams from five global regions.
