England netball players to get full-time status

English elite Netball players will have the chance to go full-time from June as part of England Netball’s attempt to boost performance ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

The decision was ratified during the governing body’s board meeting on 23 March 2016. While the move stops short of totally professionalising the sport, those chosen to go full-time will be paid for the first time.

More details and the first batch of players to go full-time will be unveiled around the time of the Superleague Grand Final on 7 May. Superleague franchises will be asked to nominate players they wish to become full-time.

England Netball will pay the players centrally with support from Sport England and full-time training will begin on Monday 13 June 2016 in Loughborough.

Joanna Adams, England Netball chief executive, said it was “amazing to be able to give these girls the opportunity to have netball as a career”.

“It’s important to make these decisions in order to accelerate the development of the England Roses’ success and get even closer to the top two teams in the world,” she added. “Once again we’d like to extend a huge thanks to Sport England for their continued support of our athletes, without which they wouldn’t be able to perform at the level they do.”

The 2019 Netball World Cup will take place in Liverpool, England.