The rivalry between Australia’s and New Zealand’s netball teams is renowned, the stories of the battles between the two nations repeated with reverence over the generations. But as the Australian Diamonds prepare to defend their Constellation Cup title when the series begins on Thursday, a shadow hangs over the sport on this side of the Tasman, in the form of frustrating delays to the signing of the collective playing agreement (CPA) between Netball Australia and the players.
Despite this impasse, there has not been a similar standoff from the governing body that occurred before the World Cup, where Netball Australia delayed naming the squad until the contracts were signed. It was an attempt to put pressure on the Australian Netball Players’ Association (ANPA) that did not work and the contracts remain unsigned, with all players now off contract.
The previous agreement expired on 30 September, which means players were not allowed to be contracted to clubs past this date and have not been able to sign new contracts for the 2024 season. While the season itself is only 17 weeks long, including finals, players are contracted year-round, which allows clubs to have access to the players for preseason, events, marketing and visits to local netball associations. It also provides the players with security and eliminates the need to find other work.
With the CPA and the team participation agreement – the contract between the eight participating teams in the Super Netball league and Netball Australia – still unsigned, players are not contracted at all and left in a difficult position. Clubs have been able to issue letters of intent – meaning most players know where they will be playing next season, however their ability to be paid by those clubs is less certain until the official contracts can be signed.
The main sticking points of the as-yet-unsigned agreements are reportedly around the financial arrangements and the term of the contracts – Netball Australia is pushing for a three-year agreement, while ANPA prefers a one-year deal to allow for more immediate renegotiations around pay and conditions.
In a statement released on Monday, ANPA called for mediation, saying their requests are “very modest and tailored to meet the financial challenges of the times,” and that the revenue-sharing model the players are asking for involves taking on the risk as well as the reward.
Netball Australia responded by outlining their “disappointment” that ANPA has “rejected a groundbreaking CPA proposal”. The organisation said it had made “significant concessions” and has offered a profit-share model rather than a revenue-sharing model, citing an independent report that found it “unsuitable” for netball.
The question on the lips of many casual observers of the dispute is, how did Australia’s most popular team sport for women and girls find itself in this position? The answer is naturally complex and takes in a wide range of factors, but ultimately it is entangled within the structural and gendered issues at the heart of sport as a whole.
Traditionally, sport has existed as a masculine domain, with sports fandom passed down the generations from father to son. For a variety of reasons – from women having less access to leisure time outside the house, to devaluation of traditionally feminine pursuits, to the many changes to Australian netball leagues failing to create a cohesive history – netball’s large participation base has not translated into a strong support base at the elite level. This means less money flowing into the sport from ticket sales and memberships, sponsorship deals and broadcast agreements.
While other women’s sports sit alongside men’s, allowing access to networks and funding built from years of relationships with the business and media communities, netball has had to find its own way. This has contributed to the financial woes faced by Netball Australia in recent years, which has had a domino effect on these drawn out contract negotiations. The governing body cites concerns for the future of the sport if they hand over too much money and ANPA asserts that the players – as the face of the game and on whose labour the entire sport depends – have a right to share in the funds they are bringing in for netball.
As it stands now, there does not appear to be a resolution imminent for the CPA, although the team participation agreement is reportedly close to being signed. This will have a flow on effect to building momentum for 2024, with clubs unable to effectively build their membership base without players on which to market themselves around. The players have assigned their intellectual property rights to ANPA until the CPA is signed, meaning requests to use images and video of players by the clubs and the league will need to be approved before use.
For the Diamonds, while the interruption will not stop the international season from going ahead, the uncertainty does not provide the ideal breeding ground for peak performance. In the ongoing story of the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand, this will be a chapter marred by off-court unrest.
