Netball World Cup
History
In 1960, the five big netballing nations – Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies – met to met to discuss standardising the rules of ‘women’s basketball’ (as it was then known).
From that meeting came two big things: the International Federation of Netball Associations, and a quadrennial global tournament, the INF Netball World Cup.
The World Cup is the pinnacle of international competitive netball. The sport’s highest prize. The first tournament was held in Eastbourne, England, in 1963. Eleven teams took to the court, with Australia eventually coming out on top (after a 10-0 clean sweep…but who’s counting?)
In fact, the Australian Diamonds have won 11 World Cup titles, including Sydney in 2015. New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago are the only other nations to have lifted the trophy, including a memorable three-way tie in 1979.
The Netball World Cup has travelled around the globe, from Singapore and Scotland all the way to Jamaica. Every four years, the world’s best 16 teams compete for the prize, progressing through round several robin preliminary stages, then a series of knock-out finals.
It’s a tournament that’s seen drama and upsets, famous wins and bitter losses. The Netball World Cup is where legends are made