International Women’s Day offers a chance for many of us working in the sector to reflect on the growth of women’s sport.

Much has been made about the rise of women’s football in England over recent years, powered by the success of the Lionesses on the international stage – and rightly so.

However, netball – the sport of my heart – remains the number one team sport for women in England with more than three million playing annually.

While Sarina Wiegman’s all-conquering England team inspired girls up and down the country to lace up their boots with a stunning Euro 2022 win on home turf, English netball has been going from strength to strength since the England Roses triumphed at the Commonwealth Games in 2019.

Mentors and seizing opportunities

I was fortunate enough to spend four years working at England Netball where my sponsorship and marketing career started. The commercial director at the time, Jo Sinclair, took a chance on me and with no sponsorship experience I took on the role of Sponsorship Executive, before being promoted to a Sponsorship Manager. I was supported by the organisation to undertake both a CIM Level 2 and Level 3 in Digital Marketing at Loughborough College, alongside working. Having Jo as a mentor was imperative to my career and the opportunity to work in a female dominated industry alongside amazing brands was eye opening. It was remarkable to see the drive behind empowering women in both sport and their career. With a mostly female senior leadership team, it was clear to see the path the organisation was taking to encourage women both on and off the court.

After four years in netball the opportunity arose for me to work within football, and the reality is that being a woman working in football still has its challenges. However, having such a strong female mentor during my time at England Netball, and someone who has continued to support me since moving on in my career, has helped me feel empowered to push for change for women working in sport, and has shown me the power women have behind them as athletes, fans, and employees.

In a survey of sports industry professionals in 2023 (Frontier), we found that 70% of respondents had seen an increase in the number of women working in the sector.

Netball’s shot at exposure

In a bid to increase exposure of the sport, Netball Superleague (NSL) announced a groundbreaking broadcast deal earlier this year with Sky Sports. In a renewed three-year partnership, the broadcaster will showcase one game from each regular round shown on Sky Sports YouTube, ensuring the widest possible access to the UK’s elite level netball competition that is free to fans.

An NSL first, this also includes a broadcast deal with BBC Sport which will showcase a game per round on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport, unlocking further reach.

The hope is for this to drive attendances at club level with the aim to achieve audiences as seen in the Australian and New Zealand leagues where netball is one of the biggest and most popular sports.

What do we know about netball fans?

According to a study by the Women’s Sport Trust, in 2019, it was found that 50% of fans attending netball games were over 45 years old but that number has reduced to 38% in 2023, with a growing presence of younger fans.

Attend a game and you will see that most ticket holders (88% at the England v Jamaica Series in January 2023) are female, however like women’s football, the audience watching from home are split equally between male and female.

Coming from an avid sporting family, watching sport on TV and live was a big part of my upbringing, and the exposure to certain sports at a young age has had a big role to play in my passions as an adult. With netball now having a younger audience, I believe this will follow through the generations, with them likely to bring their own children to the games in the future and the popularity of the sport will continue to grow.

As the audience evolves, this creates giant opportunities for brands interested in partnering with England Netball, which will allow the organisation to look at bigger home venues, build on their goal to make the NSL a fully professional sport and, in turn, increase the opportunities for the talent.

The opportunity for sponsors…

With England Netball having a big focus on participation, sponsorship for both the England Roses and NSL are imperative for the growth of netball from club and all the way to international level. However, sponsorship in netball is not just a tool for growing the game, netball’s audience is highly receptive vs the average UK Sports Fan.

Dentsu Sports Analytics and MKTG introduced the concept of Fan Receptivity over a decade ago, transforming how we understand fans openness to sponsorship. Receptivity delves into the consumers' attitudes towards sponsorship to help brands understand the true addressable audience of a property. In the case of netball in the UK, fans are almost twice as receptive vs UK Sports Fans (33% receptive vs 18% receptive). This figure rises to 48% in Australia, where netball is also hugely popular, with Australian Sports Fans sitting at 36% receptive. (Dentsu Sports Analytics: Decoding 360).

It’s clear that netball has an engaged and receptive audience which provides brands with a great opportunity to reach their target audience through one of the UK’s most popular sports, all while supporting the growth of the game.

Alongside broadcast partners, both the England team and NSL have been supported by various blue-chip brands over the years including Vitality, Nike, and Red Bull and have recently announced a big partnership with Experience Kissimmee for the NSL.

I was fortunate enough to manage the Vitality account when working at England Netball and the insurance provider has made a big investment in the sport over the years.

They were not the kind of brand to just put a logo on assets for ROI - their focus centred around using the partnership to get people more active. In 2023 it was announced that Vitality was extending their partnership for a further three years and doubling their investment in netball, making it the largest commercial investment from a brand into the sport in the UK. Vitality have always had a strong strategy of encouraging members to be active and have worked with England Netball to support initiatives such as the Back to Netball programme, encouraging individuals to get back into the sport if they haven’t played for several years.

Working with these big brands, will only increase as the NSL moves towards professionalisation, and the broadcasters’ audiences increases offering brand’s greater exposure, which in turn will grow the sport’s audience towards what it deserves.

After attending many games over the years, and still going to watch games now, I would strongly recommend going to a game and checking it out. If you are still need some convincing, search for the CWG 2019 Final and watch the last quarter where Helen Housby makes the gold medal winning shot in the final seconds and you can see exactly how exciting this sport is!