Netball’s push for an Olympic debut in 2032 is gaining momentum, with more than 15,000 people having signed a pledge to get the sport on to the world stage as part of the Brisbane Games.
On the back of revealing another record-breaking season of crowds, more broadcast partners than ever before and a big boost to finals viewership, Netball Australia ramped up its campaign for Olympic inclusion at the weekend’s grand final.
Chair Liz Ellis appealed to a full house at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena to lend support to the campaign in a passionate appeal.
Speaking at a grand final lunch in front of 800 corporate guests and fans, and again after a sublime match won by a single goal by the Melbourne Vixens over the West Coast Fever, Ellis revealed planning for a landmark World Cup in Sydney in 2027 was gathering steam but asked for support for the sport’s “biggest challenge yet, to get netball into the Brisbane 2032 Olympics”.
“How could you not have that in the Olympics?” she said of the thrilling 60-minute spectacle the crowd had just watched.
NA took the opportunity of the biggest domestic game — and crowd — of the season to push its campaign, with human billboards roaming the venue with a QR code fans could scan to pledge support for netball’s Games inclusion.
“By pledging your support, you’re telling the Australian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee that netball deserves its place among the world’s greatest sports at the Brisbane 2032 Games,” the form says.
More than 30,000 people had already signed the pledge as of early Tuesday.
It continues the sport’s resurgence in a season that has included the biggest crowds and widest reach Super Netball has seen in its nine-year existence.
The total-season attendance of 386,455 was the best in history, cementing the league’s status as the most attended women’s domestic sport in the country for the third year in succession.
The number was an all-time high for both the regular season and playoffs, with finals series crowds up by 25 per cent compared to 2024.
The grand final sold out for the fourth consecutive year, with a record crowd of 15,013 packing into Rod Laver Arena after the Victorian Government’s financial support gained hosting rights for the showpiece event.
The match was also the most-watched Super Netball game ever on Kayo Sports and Foxtel, up 60 per cent on last year.
The finals series also set a new broadcast benchmark, while the sport was available on more platforms that ever before with Foxtel, SEN, Netball Pass Whoopi Goldberg’s AWSN and Inverleigh all broadcasting matches.
World Netball and Netball Australia bosses held preliminary talks with Brisbane 2032 organisers in March, with World Netball (WN) chief executive Fiona Harold, NA chief executive Stacey West and Ellis meeting virtually with Brisbane 2032 boss Cindy Hook after Cyclone Alfred derailed their plans to meet in person.
Brisbane 2032 Director of Sport Brendan Keane was at both the lunch and the grand final match on Saturday night and netball officials could not have hoped for a better match to underline their push for a sport played by more than 23 million woman in 100 countries around the world.
West said the 2025 season reflected the growing strength of the code and the passion of its supporters.
“This year’s success is a true reflection of the dedication of our athletes, clubs, partners and fans,” West said.
“To sell our Rod Laver Arena and set new records across almost every metric is something the entire netball community can be incredibly proud of.
“Not only did we break crowd records across the country but we also reached more Australians than ever through our expanded broadcast footprint. The 2025 finals series was our most watched on record, showing that the appetite for elite netball is not just growing, it is thriving.”
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