Netball NZ selects Mowbray-Williams bid for 2027 league

By Dana Johannsen of RNZ

Netball New Zealand has latched onto the lifeline offered by Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams to keep the elite domestic competition afloat in 2027.

RNZ understands the national body has selected the Mowbray-Williams bid to establish a private franchise league as its preferred option to replace the ANZ Premiership, following months of uncertainty over the future of the competition.

A source close to the discussions told RNZ the Netball NZ board reached the decision at a meeting last week, and the organisation is now working with the high-profile couple to finalise the details.

There is still plenty to be worked through, including securing commercial and broadcast partners, as well as settling on the competition window, length of the season and the number of teams involved.

“We’re at a point where this is the decision that’s been made, now we’re working at getting the pieces of the puzzle in place,” the source told RNZ.

A spokesperson for Netball NZ said the organisation could not confirm any developments at this time. It is expected the national body will announce its decision as well as the next steps later this week.

RNZ revealed earlier this month Mowbray and Williams, who own a 15 percent stake in A-League football club Auckland FC, were leading a bid to establish a new private franchise league in 2028.

A private ownership model was one of several options being considered by Netball NZ as it weighed up the future of the competition after incurring losses of $3.7 million last season.

Under the Mowbray-Williams proposal the competition would run independently of Netball NZ, with the private ownership group taking responsibility for the league’s commercial and operational arrangements.

That proposal was later updated to move a potential launch date forward to next year amid growing concern of what the domestic landscape would look like next season.

It is understood the disclosure of the national body’s financial position, coupled with concerns of an exodus of top talent overseas, mobilised Mowbray and Williams to present an alternate plan to Netball NZ for 2027.

One netball insider told RNZ earlier this month that the 2027 plan would be a scaled-back version of the private ownership group’s broader ambitions and provide a launch pad for 2028.

“It won’t be the fully-realised product that is envisaged for 2028, I guess it would be more like a beta phase.”

While the news Netball NZ has landed on a decision is a positive step after months of uncertainty over the future of the competition, it has arrived too late for a significant chunk of the country’s leading players.

With players left in limbo while netball officials grappled with some big decisions facing the game, Netball NZ were forced to roll back its eligibility rules for the Silver Ferns, allowing players based overseas to still be eligible for the national team.

The decision has seen Kiwi players flock overseas in unprecedented numbers, with 13 players taking up contracts in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball competition, including 10 of the 12 members of the Silver Ferns Commonwealth Games gold medal winning team.

Several players like superstar shooter Grace Nweke (Sydney Sirens) and the Heffernan twins, Kate (Adelaide Thunderbirds) and Georgia (Sunshine Coast Lightning), have signed multi-year deals.

A further five players have landed contracts in the UK.

Others, like former Silver Fern and highly-regarded defender Kate Burley, have made the decision to retire.

Netball NZ chief executive Jennah Wootten, who stepped into the top job less than three weeks ago, told RNZ earlier this month she accepted a significant number of players would likely take up opportunities overseas. She said her goal was to get a strong, sustainable and compelling league in place for 2027 and beyond that would attract players back.

“We completely understand and respect why players are needing to make decisions in regards to opportunities abroad,” she said.

“This is players’ livelihoods and they’ve got to make decisions that are right for them and their families. We wanted to make sure that they still had the option to look at other possibilities while [Netball NZ] are working to get that clarity.”

– RNZ

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz