Netball Super League (United Kingdom)
Professional netball league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Netball Super League is an elite netball league in the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and previously Scotland. The Super League commenced at the 2005–06 season, replacing the Super Cup as the elite netball competition in England. From 2016-21 the league was sponsored by VitalityHealth and, as a result, known as the Vitality Netball Super League. Since 2022, it has been known as the Netball Super League.
Current season, competition or edition: 2025 Netball Super League season | |
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| Sport | Netball |
|---|---|
| First season | 2005–06 |
| Director | Claire Nelson |
| Organising body | England Netball |
| No. of teams | 8[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Most recent champion | London Pulse (1st title) |
| Most titles | Team Bath (5 titles) |
| Broadcasters | Sky Sports BBC Sport |
| Related competitions | British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship Super Cup |
| Official website | www.netballsl.com |
The league's most successful teams are Team Bath, who have won five titles, Manchester Thunder who have won four titles and London Mavericks, who have played in seven grand finals. Surrey Storm won successive titles in 2015 and 2016 and Wasps played in three successive finals, winning two titles, between 2017 and 2019. Loughborough Lightning won their first title in 2021, beating Team Bath, following this with a second title in 2023 and third in 2024.
Umpire Gary Burgess made history in 2018 by umpiring his 10th consecutive Netball Super League final between Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm.
Teams
Current teams (2025 onwards)
| Team | Coach | Home venue/base | City | Debut season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Birmingham Panthers |
Sonia Mkoloma[2] | BP Pulse Live Arena
Utilita Arena Birmingham Coventry Skydome University of Worcester Arena |
Birmingham | 2025 |
 Cardiff Dragons |
Reinga Bloxham | Cardiff International Arena | Cardiff | 2005–06 |
 Leeds Rhinos |
Lauren Palmer | First Direct Arena | Leeds | 2021 |
 London Mavericks |
Tamsin Greenway | Wembley Arena | London | 2005–06 |
 London Pulse |
Sam Bird | Copper Box Arena | London | 2019 |
 Loughborough Lightning |
Vic Burgess | Loughborough University | Loughborough | 2005–06 |
 Manchester Thunder |
Karen Greig | Manchester Arena, Belle Vue Sports Village, Liverpool Arena | Manchester | 2005–06 |
 Nottingham Forest Netball |
Chelsea Pitman | Motorpoint Arena | Nottingham | 2025 |
- Notes
- ^1 Between 2001 and 2012, Manchester Thunder played as Northern Thunder.
- ^2 London Mavericks previously played as Saracens Mavericks, Galleria Mavericks, Hertfordshire Mavericks and benecosMavericks.
- ^3 Surrey Storm originally played as Brunel Hurricanes.
- ^4 Cardiff Dragons previously played as Celtic Dragons.
Former teams
| Team | Region | Debut season | Final season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow Wildcats | Scotland | 2008–09 | 2011 |
| Leeds Carnegie/Yorkshire Jets | Yorkshire | 2005–06 | 2016 |
| Team Northumbria | North East England | 2005–06 | 2018 |
| Wasps Netball | Coventry, West Midlands | 2017 | 2022 |
 Surrey Storm |
Guildford | 2005–06 | 2024 |
 Team Bath |
Bath, South West | 2005–06 | 2024 |
 Severn Stars |
Worcester | 2017 | 2024 |
 Strathclyde Sirens |
Glasgow (Scotland) | 2017 | 2024 |
- Notes
- ^1 Between 2005–06 and 2011, Yorkshire Jets played as Leeds Carnegie.
History
| Season | Key events |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Brunel Hurricanes, Celtic Dragons, Galleria Mavericks, Leeds Carnegie, Loughborough Lightning, Northern Thunder, Team Bath and Team Northumbria become founder members of the new Netball Super League.[3] |
| 2005–06 | With a squad that included Pamela Cookey, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Jess Garland, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor, Team Bath win the inaugural Netball Super League title.[4][5][6] Team Bath subsequently dominate the early seasons of the league, winning further Super League titles in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013.[7][8][9][10] |
| 2007–08 | After playing and losing in the first two grand finals, the Mavericks win their first Super League title.[11][12] |
| 2008–09 | Glasgow Wildcats become the first team from Scotland to join the league.[13][14] However they only play in the league for three seasons and withdraw following the 2011 season.[15] |
| 2009–10 | Brunel Hurricanes end their partnership with Brunel University and relocate to the University of Surrey to become Surrey Storm.[16][17] |
| 2012 | Northern Thunder win their first Super League title.[18] They subsequently change their name to Manchester Thunder before the 2013 season.[19] |
| 2015 | After making four grand final appearances in five years, Surrey Storm win their first Super League title.[17][20][21] |
| 2016 | Surrey Storm retain the Super League title.[22][23] Yorkshire Jets, formerly Leeds Carnegie, play their final Super League season.[24] |
| 2017 | Three new franchises Severn Stars, Scottish Sirens and Wasps make their Super League debuts.[24][25][26] Wasps go on to win the Grand Final in their debut season.[27] |
| 2018 | Wasps retain the Super League title [28] Team Northumbria play their final Super League season.[29] |
| 2019 | London Pulse make their Super League debut.[29][30][31] Manchester Thunder win their third Super League title.[32][33] Leeds Rhinos are announced as a new franchise team for 2021.[34] |
| 2020/2021 | Following disruptions to the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, England Netball took the "difficult decision" to suspend the league until 2021. This followed consultation with the league's board as well as all 10 teams and stakeholders.[35] The 2021 season was staged over a shortened period and behind closed doors at select venues. Loughborough Lightning win their first Super League title. |
| 2022 | Manchester Thunder win their fourth title. Wasps Netball play their final Super League season. |
| 2023 | England Netball announces the NSL will be relaunched in 2025 in a drive towards professionalisation, indicating bigger venues and arenas, competition improvements to deliver more thrilling games and advancements in the elite environment to create rewarding careers in netball.[36] Loughborough Lightning win their second title. |
| 2024 | Loughborough Lightning win their third title. England Netball announce the confirmed teams for the relaunched NSL, with Surrey Storm, Team Bath Netball, Severn Stars and Strathclyde Sirens all playing their final Super League season. Birmingham Panthers and Nottingham Forrest netball were confirmed as new teams for the 2025 season, with the league shrunk to down to 8 teams.[37] |
| 2025 | As part of the revamped league new rules were introduced in 2025 to create a closer competition and more thrilling matches:[38]
|
Grand Finals
Source:[50]
Winners
Sponsorship
Television
Sky Sports are the Netball Super League's official broadcast partner and they broadcast live matches throughout the season.[56][57][58] In November 2016 England Netball and Sky Sports signed a four-year deal which saw every live match made available to all Sky TV customers on Sky Sports Mix.[59][60] A "multi-year deal" was reached in 2021, which expanded Sky's coverage to allow for all matches to be either televised on Sky Sports or streamed via YouTube.[61]
NXT Gen
As part of the 2025 relaunched Netball Super League, a new underpinning league was announced called NXT Gen, designed to develop the next generation of players and provide a pipeline of talent for the Super League.[62] Players competing in the NXT Gen League can be called up as temporary replacement players in the NSL where a match fee will be paid to them along with remuneration for any additional NSL requirements.[62] The league is primarily for U23s but allows four players over 23 to be included to enhance the quality of the competition, whilst protecting opportunities for developing athletes. This also enables the continuation of elite competition for NSL players who are returning from long term injury or pregnancy.[62] It features the 8 NSL teams as well as Team Bath (who was not offered a NSL contract in the relaunched league).[62]