Liz Nicholl, World Netball's president: "We are committed to exploring the potential with Netball Australia and ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement."
Monday 9 August 2021 08:58, UK
World Netball and Netball Australia have declared their intent to see netball become part of the Olympic Games' sporting programme at Brisbane 2032.
In July, it was announced that Brisbane had been successful in its ambition to host the Games in 2032 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the recommendation of its executive board.
Brisbane will be the third Australian city to host the Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
Netball has been part of the Commonwealth Games since 1998, however the sport has never previously been part of the Olympic programme.
When speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Liz Nicholl, World Netball's president, said that their new strategy would see them have a 'clear and credible position' on multi-sports games, including the Olympic Games.
Nicholl also added: "Now, the best opportunities are going to arise when the host nation for the Olympics is a strong netball nation, so we keep our eyes open for that."
With Australia being one of the leaders in the world order and netball being the biggest team sport for women and girls in the country - one that's played by over 1.2 million men, women and children - it's clear that the host nation fits that billing.
Like Nicholl, Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan is fully committed to doing what they can to understand how netball could fit within an Olympic programme from 2032 onwards.
"In such a challenging time, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have brought so much joy to households right across Australia," Ryan said.
"I, like many people in the netball community, have watched in awe of our Australian athletes who have represented our country with pride, humility and determination.
"We congratulate them for their incredible achievements and wish our Paralympians the best of luck as they compete in two weeks' time.
"We want our junior netballers to dream of Olympic glory in the sport they love. Our sport deserves to be played on the biggest stage," she concluded.
"All our Member Nations are excited at the potential of being part of the Olympic Family in 2032," Nicholl added.
"We are committed to exploring the potential with Netball Australia and ensuring that our case for inclusion adds significant value to this very special Olympic movement."
This open statement of intent from both Netball Australia and World Netball will be music to netball fans' ears, as so many have longed for the sport to become part of the Olympic Games since it was first included in the Commonwealth Games.
Now, the hard work starts for World Netball and Netball Australia as they will need to collaborate with the Australian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee to fully understand the parameters and criteria required, for this to be a successful bid.
