Netball, which is currently played by more than 20 million people worldwide, was first played in England in 1895. In the first half of the 20th century, Netball’s popularity grew significantly, with the game being played in many Commonwealth countries. There were no standard rules at that time with both nine-a-side and five-a-side versions of the game existing.
During an Australian tour of England in 1957, discussions took place concerning standardising the rules of the sport and this led to representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and The West Indies meeting in Sri Lanka in 1960 to establish The International Federation of Women’s Basketball and Netball.
Formal rules were established at this inaugural meeting and it was decided to hold World Championship tournaments every four years, beginning in England in 1963. Netball was first included in the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and has featured at the Games since then. England made history by winning the gold medal for the first time in 2018 when they beat Australia by one goal 52-51.
World Netball (WN) – formerly the International Netball Federation (INF) – is the sole governing body for Netball throughout the world and is responsible for the Rules of Netball. WN members now include over 80 National Netball Associations grouped into 5 regions – Africa, Asia, The Americas, Europe and Oceania – each with their own Regional Federation.
Israel Netball was officially accepted as a full member of Europe Netball in 2011 and of WN in 2012, and is ranked on the world netball stage.
Israel Netball is the official governing body of our favourite sport in Israel, and as full members of World Netball and Europe Netball, it is very active in the international netball community.
