Manchester Thunder take on Leeds Rhinos at AO Arena on May 7, 2023
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The UK’s Netball Super League (NSL) has announced the eight teams that will feature in the relaunched competition next year, with Premier League football club Nottingham Forest to operate a new franchise that will play at the city’s Motorpoint Arena.
The revamped league will feature six existing clubs – LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons, Leeds Rhinos, London Mavericks, London Pulse, Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder – and two new entities: Nottingham Forest Netball and Birmingham Panthers.
The current NSL teams that have not made the cut for next year’s competition are Surrey Storm, Team Bath, Severn Stars and Strathclyde Sirens.
Today’s (Thursday’s) announcement comes after a tender process was launched in October with the goal of transforming the NSL into the “most competitive, commercially vibrant and captivating” professional netball league in the world.
The league said the relaunched competition will mark a significant step towards its professionalisation, with plans to become fully professional within 10 years. The eight clubs have been selected due to their ability to deliver the “on and off-court advancements” needed to raise the standards of the league.
It is hoped a move from 10 to eight clubs will ensure a greater concentration and dispersion of talent, as well as higher-quality games. The league has announced that 50% of games next season will be played at major arenas, while player wages will increase with the average salary rising by at least 60%.
The league has pledged to work with the four teams that will not take part in next year’s competition. England Netball will continue to work closely with Team Bath – a five-time Super League champion – to explore options for the future.
The Birmingham Panthers will work with the University of Worcester to build on the success of the Severn Stars, while the Nottingham Forest Netball outfit will be owned and operated by the football club, which has plans to develop a multi-sport model.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also owns Greek Super League team Olympiacos, which has a multi-sport structure with teams dedicated to basketball, volleyball, athletics and more. The new Nottingham Forest Netball team will play games at Motorpoint Arena, which hosted the opening round of this season’s Super League and also serves as the home of the Nottingham Panthers ice hockey outfit.
A Forest spokesperson said: “Nottingham Forest is a brand that is recognised globally as inclusive and progressive. Like our sister club, Olympiacos, the opportunity to extend our brand into netball was too good to be missed and we are delighted with today’s announcement. We have so many young female fans who can now dream of not just playing in the Garibaldi red of Forest in football matches, but now on the netball court.”
Claire Nelson, managing director of the Netball Super League, added: “This is an incredibly exciting day as we unveil the clubs which will help to define our league as we enter this new era for our domestic game. Going from 10 clubs at present to eight next year will be a case of fewer, bigger, better. We have big plans as a league and believe that we have the right clubs who can come on this incredible journey with us.
“We must say a huge thank you to all clubs and interested parties who were involved in the tender process. Clearly, we’ve had to make some really difficult decisions along the way; decisions that were necessary to enable us to create a product that is built to last and one that our fans want to show up to and be a part of now and long into the future.
“We are proud to stand on the shoulders of all the clubs that have laid the path before us and we will ensure that we honour their legacy by taking our league and sport to new heights as we move forward into this new era.”
The profile of netball in England has grown since the country won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena hosted the Netball World Cup in 2019.
This season’s Super League season continues this weekend and the grand final of the competition will take place at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena on June 29.
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