England Netball agreed a deal with the Co-operative for sponsorship of the Superleague, the premier competition for the game in England last year. Speaking at the ‘Co-operative Player of the Year’ awards, The Co-operative’s Director of Food Retail Marketing Debbie Robinson asked its members to support the programme. She said: “Netball is the most popular team sport in the world for women, so in many ways it is unbelievable that it has not achieved Olympic status sooner.
“In England alone it is played by over a million women and girls every week, and it is one of the core sports of the Commonwealth Games. And yet, despite being a recognised sport by the IOC, there are currently no plans to include it at either the London games or in 2016.
The bid already has the backing of England and the other Home Countries Netball Associations, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also indicated that he would like to see netball included in the London 2012 programme as a showcase event.
