England will stage the Netball World Cup for the fourth time in 2031, with Manchester named the host city of the sport’s showpiece event.
The announcement by World Netball will see the tournament held at Manchester’s Co-op Live entertainment arena, which staged this year’s grand final of the domestic Netball Super League between AO Thunder and London Pulse.
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The city’s bid was backed by UK Sport and Manchester City Council and outlined plans to use the tournament to “empower, connect, and inspire” the next generation of fans.
It will be the fourth time England has hosted the event after staging the inaugural edition in 1963 in Eastbourne, as well as the 1995 and 2019 editions in Birmingham and Liverpool, respectively.
Fran Connolly, chief executive of England Netball, said: “Building on the huge success and legacy of Liverpool 2019, the Netball World Cup 2031 gives us a powerful platform to grow the visibility, profile and impact of women’s sport and netball across the UK.
“Having witnessed the spectacle of the Soft & Gentle Netball Super League Grand Final at Co-op Live earlier this summer, we know Manchester is the perfect stage on which to take our sport to another level.
“Hosting the Netball World Cup in Manchester will allow us to showcase the very best of our sport to a global audience, inspire more people to pick up a netball, and create a lasting legacy for players, fans and communities.
“We can’t wait to work with World Netball and our delivery partners to deliver an event that sets a new benchmark for how women’s sport is presented, experienced and valued.”
The tournament will see 16 of the best national teams compete across 64 matches for the title, with England looking to push on having secured a silver medal at the previous 2023 edition in South Africa.
England have never won a World Cup, with Australia dominating the tournament with 12 titles, including at the most recent edition.
The next edition of the Netball World Cup will be held in Sydney, Australia, in 2027 at the 21,000-seat Qudos Bank Arena, located in the city’s Olympic Park.
Ahead of the upcoming edition, Netball Australia has ramped up the tournament’s commercial partnerships, most recently adding travel and events company Quint Australia to its list of sponsors.
Australian partnerships agency Rife was named the exclusive sponsorship sales agency for the flagship event, with the firm working to secure up to four top-tier premier partners, four official partners, and eight tournament supporters.
In March, Australian apparel firm Special Event Merchandising was appointed the official licensing and retail supplier for the tournament, with the company tasked with designing and developing the official NWC2027 merchandise range, overseeing the selection and management of licensees and retailers, operating the sale and distribution of products, as well as managing an online store and merchandise outlets during the tournament.
On the media rights side, in April, Australia’s commercial broadcaster Nine Network has landed a five-year partnership with the Netball Australia governing body for exclusive rights to air a swathe of competitions, including the 2027 Netball World Cup.
From the 2031 edition, the tournament will switch to being staged every two years, with World Netball currently searching for more hosts for its flagship event.
