The feminist netball pioneer who set out to build 'physically perfect' women — SkimNews
SkimNews Take
Netball's Olympic bid coincides with the Commonwealth Games dropping it from core status, meaning Brisbane 2032 would fill a structural gap rather than crown pure expansion — a defensive pivot dressed as ambition.
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- Martina Bergman Osterberg pioneered netball in 1895 at her Dartford Physical Training College, adapting James Naismith's 1891 basketball invention by outlawing dribbling and replacing baskets with netted rings; her campus also produced the gymslip and banned the corset
- World Netball is campaigning for Olympic inclusion at Brisbane 2032, with president Dame Liz Nicholl telling BBC Sport it could 'future-proof' the sport — a decision from the IOC is expected soon
- Netball has 13 million players globally, with England leading at 3 million active participants, but the sport is no longer a guaranteed Commonwealth Games core sport — only athletics and swimming are now designated
- The Netball Super League is two years into a 10-year professionalization pathway, with attendances jumping 45% in year one; top Australian Suncorp Super Netball players reportedly approach six-figure salaries while UK counterparts scrape into five figures
- The Netball World Cup, held every four years since 1963, is going biennial from 2027
- England were Commonwealth Games gold medallists in 2018 and World Cup runners-up in 2023; England Netball marks its centenary in 2026 after being founded in 1926
- University of Auckland netball historian Margaret Henley calls the sport 'unique — the only sport that I have been able to find that is completely controlled, operated, designed by, played by women over its history'
Why it matters: Netball's Olympic debut at Brisbane 2032 would be the sport's biggest stage since its 1895 founding — and would lock in funding pathways currently dependent on the Commonwealth Games, which no longer guarantees netball a core slot. With 13 million global players, IOC inclusion would convert a grassroots, women-led sport into a mainstream Olympic fixture, making the Brisbane bid a make-or-break moment for the game's professional era.
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