The International Netball Federation (INF) announced recently that England Netball has won the rights to host the 15th staging of the Netball World Cup in 2019. The tournament, which follows this year’s Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, will be held at ACC Liverpool in the iconic city of Liverpool, widely renowned for its international reputation in hosting sports and other major events, including the World Netball Series.
Netball SA President Mimi Mthethwa said: “Netball is thriving with unprecedented growth in participation, support from sponsors and exposure in the media particularly in South Africa. We have toured England on numerous occasions and can attest to the top class facilities they have to stage an event of this magnitude.
“We in the international netball fraternity are looking forward to this year’s World Cup in Sydney and believe that such world class events would serve to further enhance the profile of the sport. We want to be one of the most followed and watched codes globally and this will help us to get there,” said Mthethwa.
INF President Molly Rhone said: “England put in a strong bid and we are confident that they will deliver an outstanding event in an excellent venue in the city of Liverpool. It is an exciting time for netball right now, which is growing at an unprecedented rate throughout the world. We look forward to seeing this growth continue to soar and to working with the Organising Committee in bringing the INF’s most important event to England in 2019.”
The 2019 Netball World Cup forms part of UK Sport’s Gold Event Series, which is investing around £40 million of National Lottery funding to bring up to 100 world-class events to Great Britain to help build a strong legacy from London 2012 and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
CEO of England Netball Joanna Adams commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been awarded the rights to stage the World Cup, the biggest competition in netball. With participation increasing in the sport, this will provide a welcome incentive to build upon our momentum and increase the visibility of netball in our country.
“Having worked with Liverpool to host major global tournaments previously, we have a proven track record of being able to stage such a prestigious event and we look forward to welcoming the netball world to the North-West. On behalf of England Netball, I would like to thank all parties who worked with us on securing this bid.”