The Northern Football League (NFL) is excited to announce the creation of a new entity under its banner – the Northern Netball League (NNL).
The league’s Netball Chairman Jeff Parkes described the announcement as “an opportunity for both leagues to grow and develop within their own frameworks whilst remaining intrinsically connected”.
The NFL launched a netball competition in 2008 to encourage more female engagement within its football and sporting clubs as well as driving cultural change. Commencing with eight teams in its first year, the competition has grown to now cover six sections, involving 22 clubs. The competition has established itself as one of the largest senior netball competitions in metropolitan Melbourne and continues to grow on a yearly basis.
The growth and development of this competition has now led to the introduction of a junior competition (commencing mid-October) and a return to affiliation with Netball Victoria. The NFL has determined that in order to continue to advance this aspect of our community, an identifiable brand aligned to the sport in which this competition resides was vital.
Along with this, the Board of the NFL has altered the entry criteria for competing clubs within the NNL. Incorporated clubs not necessarily aligned with NFL clubs may enter teams within either the junior or senior NNL competitions and new competitions including social and mixed variations are planned for future seasons.
The NFL will be assigning dedicated full-time staff to the running of the NNL and further announcements in this regard will be made shortly. The NNL administration will operate out of the offices of the NFL and competition matches will be played at venues including Parade College Bundoora, Diamond Creek Community Stadium and RMIT Bundoora.
Netball Victoria General Manager of Game Development Katie Redding said Netball Victoria support the formation of the Northern Netball League and are committed to investing in developing this league under its banner in the region.
“Netball Victoria and the Northern Football League have worked collectively over the last 18 months on reinstating a netball component in this region and we are delighted with the creation of the Northern Netball League,” Miss Redding said.
“With over 50 teams and 450 members ranging from juniors to seniors, the demand for netball in this community is certainly evident and it is fantastic that the Northern Football League have branched out and affiliated with Netball Victoria to provide athletes, umpires and coaches with a formalised national pathway.”
“The Northern Football Leagues pre-existing netball operations has been administered in an exceptionally professional manner and we look forward to working together in growing netball participation in the region.”
In 2014, the Northern Netball League will again be partnered by Yarra Valley Water and its “Choose Tap” message as the naming rights partner.
