History of Netball

The Evolution of the Game

Netball, a game 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 British 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 standardizing 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 included in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur. It also featured at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England and in 2006 when the games were held in Melbourne, Australia.

The International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) is the sole governing body for Netball throughout the world and is responsible for the Rules of Netball. IFNA membership is open to national netball associations and IFNA currently has close to 60 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 an associate member of IFNA in 2007, and is now working towards obtaining full membership.