Wasps establishes franchise in Netball Superleague

A franchise developed by rugby club Wasps will be one of the new editions to an expanded Netball Superleague from 2017.

The number of teams in the league – which is sponsored by Vitality – will now increase from eight to 10. Wasps, which will play matches at the Ricoh Arena, will be joined by two other new franchises, the Glasgow-based Scottish Sirens and Severn Stars who will play in Gloucester and Worcester.

Of the existing franchises, Celtic Dragons, Hertfordshire Mavericks, Loughborough Lightning, Manchester Thunder, Surrey Storm, Team Bath and Team Northumbria will continue to compete in the league, although last season’s bottom club Yorkshire Jets has not been offered a place.

England Netball has made the commitment to work with the netball community in Yorkshire to strengthen their offer in the event of further expansion to the league.

Joanna Adams, England Netball chief executive, said inviting “iconic sports brand Wasps” to take part in the league was “ground-breaking”, and that it was important to establish a franchise in Scotland.