Netball Australia denied rumours that it is endangered by financial collapse amid a cash crisis overshadowing the beginning of the Super Netball final series that is scheduled to start on June 18th. However, it became clear that the organisation could accept some money for advertising gambling services as part of an effort to generate more revenue.
Reportedly, Netball Australia lost AU$7.2 million over the past two years, with its losses over the 2021 season amounting to about AU$4.4 million. The bank loans of the netball sports governing body in Australia are worth approximately AU$4 million.
The governing body has sold off the grand final hosting rights to Perth, which was the highest bidder. The decision faced a massive wave of criticism from the Australian Netball Players Association, which explained that players were devastated by Netball Australia’s decision and by the fact they had not even been asked about their opinion.
Kelly Ryan, CEO of Netball Australia, has defended the governing body’s decision and explained that it was part of the organisation’s plans to make sure the sport is sustainable. Ms Ryan further noted that the netball sports governing body had been very transparent about its decisions and would continue to work in a way to protect the future of Netball Australia.
Netball Australia’s Boss Defends Governing Body’s Decisions
As mentioned above, CEO Kelly Ryan has also rejected the rumours that the sport is on the brink of financial collapse and confirmed that it must look for commercial opportunities outside the sport, including gambling sponsorship deals.
Ryan, who took over the CEO position at Newball Australia in 2021, has not rejected the possibility of taking money from gambling operators, as the organisation was trying to generate larger revenue to repay its debts and stabilise its financial position. She confirmed that gambling sponsorship deals were very significant and very lucrative in sports, so it was possible for Netball to get outside its comfort zone in terms of sponsorships. The governing body’s boss said that understanding the commercial viability of the Super Netball league and the asset flows between the league and rugby teams was a matter of paramount importance.
According to a recent report, Netball Australia did not have a commercially viable plan pretty much since 2016, when it walked away from the Trans-Tasman series to roll out the current competition, with the organisation marking a few straight years of revenue losses which in their turn resulted in debts of about AU$4 million that has to be paid by the end of next year.
The now-CEO was not part of Netball Australia at the time when the decision was made but now defended the body, saying that was the best thing to do and was definitely not a mistake. Now, the sport’s governing body would continue to explore various financial and commercial opportunities in order to make sure the organisation is positioned for future growth.
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Daniel Williams
