By Paddy Regester
It’s ours!
In 2027, your Origin Australian Diamonds will take on the world as hosts of the Netball World Cup (NWC) in Sydney.
We’re still six years, two Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa away from the big event, but trust us when we say it will be here in no time.
To help you secure your place as the Netball Guru around the water-cooler, here’s everything you need to know about the 2027 Netball World Cup and the NWC in general.
How many Netball World Cups have there been?
Since the first NWC tournament in 1963, there has been 15 World Championships, meaning the 2027 Netball World Cup will be the 17th (Cape Town 2023 being the 16th).
How often is the Netball World Cup played?
Every four years.
Is this Australia’s first-time hosting?
The 2027 NWC will be the fourth time that Australia has been the host nation and it will also be the third time Sydney is the host city. No other country has hosted the tournament four times and Sydney will be the first city to host the NWC three times.
Australia’s hosting history:
- 1967 – Perth (Champions - New Zealand)
- 1991 – Sydney (Champions – Australia)
- 2015 – Sydney (Champions – Australia)
Who else has hosted the Netball World Cup?
Seven countries have had the honour of hosting the Netball World Cup.
Australia, New Zealand and England have all hosted the tournament three times, Jamaica and Singapore twice and Scotland and Trinidad and Tobago have hosted the event once.
The 2023 NWC in Cape Town will be the first time the World Cup will be played in Africa.
Which countries have had the most success at the World Championships?
Only three countries have been crowned World Champions of netball since 1963; Australia (11 times), New Zealand (five times); and Trinidad and Tobago (one time).
Adding those together makes 17 World Champions from 15 tournaments, that’s because Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago were all crowned Champions of the 1979 tournament held in Port of Spain.
As we know, it’s not all about winning, and every NWC has a runner-up and a third vs fourth match.
New Zealand has the most silver medals with eight, with Australia taking home silver on four occasions and England, Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa falling one win short of the gold one time each.
No other team has won the third vs fourth match more than England, who have six bronze medals. Jamaica has three, New Zealand two and South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago both have one.
Which team is the current Netball World Champions?
The New Zealand Silver Ferns currently hold the title of Netball World Champions after defeating the Australian Diamonds by one goal in the gold medal match of the 2019 tournament in Liverpool.
Their one goal victory in England was the fourth time the gold medal match ended with the slimmest possible margin, with the 1991, 1999 and 2011 finals also being decided by a single goal.
How many teams will compete for the 2027 Netball World Cup?
16.
Throughout its history, the Netball World Cup has been played against varying amounts of national teams.
The 1967 tournament in Perth was played between the fewest countries, with just eight teams competing for the title. And the 1995 NWC in Birmingham saw 27 countries compete, the most ever.
However, since the 2007 tournament in Auckland, the tournament has settled on 16 countries competing, a trend that will continue at both the 2023 and 2027 Netball World Cups.
Are teams ranked?
Yes, they are.
The International Netball Federation (INF) releases a World Ranking of all the teams that qualify based on wins, losses and opposition weighting. For full details on the ranking system, head here.
As of March 31st, 2021, the top 16 ranked countries are:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- England
- Jamaica
- South Africa
- Malawi
- Uganda
- Scotland
- Wales
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Northern Ireland
- Zimbabwe
- Barbados
- Cook Islands
- Zambia
- Samoa
What stadium or stadiums will be hosting matches?
At this stage, this is still to be confirmed.
One of the reasons Sydney was chosen as the host city is because there is no shortage of world-class netball facilities in Sydney and the greater NSW area.
Sydney’s Olympic precinct, with Qudos Bank Arena and the brand-new Ken Rosewall Arena, is an obvious choice but there are options as far north as Newcastle and south to Wollongong that could comfortably play host to matches.
