Netball Australia received notification from Collingwood on Thursday that it would not be renewing its Suncorp Super Netball team licence for the 2024 season.
Negotiations are already underway with interested parties for an eighth team licence for the 2024-2026 seasons.
“While we are disappointed by Collingwood’s decision, we thank them for their participation in the Suncorp Super Netball competition,” Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said.
“In recent times it had become clear that Collingwood’s priorities had shifted away from netball to focus on its core business of football.
“We are understanding of the impact Collingwood’s decision has on its current players and staff, and we will support them during this time.
“We are currently talking to interested parties and look forward to communicating the next steps as this process unfolds.
“The growth of netball in Australia is strong, with more than one million participants across the country. We are proud of the Suncorp Super Netball competition, and it remains the number one professional netball league in the world.”
Ryan addressed the media later on Thursday afternoon and reiterated her stance that Netball Australia's priority was the athletes and staff at Collingwood.
Kelly Ryan addressed the media on Thursday."Our priorities stem back to the athletes and staff at Collingwood Football Club in the first instance and then from there our priority is about establishing the eighth licence and making sure we provide that as quickly as possible," Ryan said.
She acknowledged it was very disappointing but said the league's commitment to eight teams still stands, as does the broadcast commitment.
"The broadcast deal will still continue. Our commitment to have eight teams is our commitment to that deal, and the sport and competition more broadly," Ryan said.
"We will work very closely with our broadcast partner Foxtel to make sure they're a part of the conversations for what we do for the future of the competition."
Ryan also said it was difficult to gauge how quickly conversations regarding an eighth licence would progress but remained confident a licence for an eighth team would be issued in time for the 2024 season.
“It's important we get the next licence right," Ryan said.
