What is netball?
Netball is the seven-a-side court sport that grew out of early women's basketball and became its own game: no dribbling, no backboard, a 15-inch ring at 10 feet, and positional zones that restrict where each of the seven players may go — so a goal shooter never crosses halfway. It is the leading women's team sport across much of the Commonwealth.[1] [2]
How does it work?
Four quarters, a three-second rule and no contact make it a game of angles and timing. World Netball's Netball World Cup is the sport's summit, with netball a fixture of the Commonwealth Games, and professional leagues — Australia's Suncorp Super Netball and England's Netball Super League — employing the elite.[2] [3]
Where is netball strong?
Australia and New Zealand are the historic powers, with England now a genuine rival (its 2018 Commonwealth gold a landmark), Jamaica's Sunshine Girls a perennial force, and South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, Trinidad and Fiji all serious netball nations — the sport's map essentially the Commonwealth's.[2] [4]
How is netball awarded?
Who has won the most in netball?
World Cup and Commonwealth Games counts from World Netball's own tables, through the 2023 World Cup and the Glasgow 2026 Games. The 1979 World Cup ended in a three-way tie with no final played, and the title is credited to Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago alike — so Australia's twelve includes one shared title, and its outright total is eleven. Domestic honours are not tabled: World Netball publishes no league honour roll and Netball Australia's pre-2023 archive could not be reached, so the Suncorp Super Netball premierships before 2023 could not be checked.
Most Netball World Cup titles by country (1963–2023)
| Rank | Country | Years | Titles | Runner-up | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 1963, 1971, 1975, 1979 (shared), 1983, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2023 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 1967, 1979 (shared), 1987, 2003, 2019 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 3 | Trinidad & Tobago | 1979 (shared) | 1 | 1 (1987, shared) | 1 |
Most Commonwealth Games netball medals by country (1998–2026)
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Gold years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 1998, 2002, 2014, 2022 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 2006, 2010, 2026 |
| 3 | Jamaica | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | – |
| 4 | England | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2018 |
Medal lists rank on total medals, then gold, then silver; title lists rank on titles. Equal totals share a rank, and every table states the period and the last event it includes. Verified September 2026.[5] [6] [7]
References
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Netball. Accessed August 2026.
- World Netball — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- Suncorp Super Netball — official site. Accessed August 2026.
- Commonwealth Sport — netball. Accessed August 2026.
- World Netball — Netball World Cup, every edition 1963–2023. Accessed September 2026.
- World Netball — netball at the Commonwealth Games. Accessed September 2026.
- Glasgow 2026 — netball gold-medal match report (New Zealand 56–48 Jamaica). Accessed September 2026.