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England Netball & Manchester City Council bid to host the World Netball Championships 2015

Representatives from England Netball and Manchester City Council came together outside Manchester’s Town Hall yesterday, to present the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) with their bid to host the World Netball Championships in 2015, which is also supported by UK Sport,

If successful the event will take place at the Manchester Evening News Arena in July 2015 and it will be the third time England has hosted the competition having held the inaugural event in 1963 in Eastbourne and more recently in 1995 in Birmingham.

Paul Clark, Chief Executive Officer for England Netball presented the bid to Urvasi Naidoo, IFNA’s Chief Executive Officer and commented; “To host a World Championships is special for everyone involved. Our aim is to deliver a world class event that is recognised as the best ever Championships and provides legacy opportunities that will enhance the provision of community and performance netball in this country, especially as it follows the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014. Following the success of the first World Netball Series event in 2009, I am delighted to be working again with our partners Manchester City Council and UK Sport.”

Sara Bayman and St John''s Primary School Netball

The World Netball Championship is the most coveted title within the sport of netball which sees 16 international teams competing over a period of eight days. Reigning champions, Australia, have won the title 9 times and England’s highest achievement to date is coming second in 1975 when the competition was held in Auckland, New Zealand.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure also attended the presentation yesterday and said; "Manchester is recognised as a world-class sports city and we are renowned for hosting sports events at the highest level. We have worked with the IFNA to make Manchester the home of netball and have supported the federation's event development programme so it would be fantastic to bring the World Netball Championships 2015 to England. We believe we have submitted a really strong bid and are excited at the prospect of hosting this prestigious tournament in Manchester."

(L to R) Helen Davies EN, Councillor Mike Amesbury
(L to R) Councillor Mike Amesbury, Urvasi Naidoo I

Simon Morton, Head of Major Events at UK Sport, commented: “We are delighted to be supporting England Netball’s bid to host the World Netball Championships in Manchester in 2015. Bringing world class sporting events to the UK not only benefits the athletes, officials and the local economy but also provides spectators with the chance to see world class sporting action on their doorstep. Hosting the World Netball Championships in 2015 would add to a great Decade of Sport in the UK and we wish England Netball the best of luck with the bid.”

Supporting the submission was England and Northern Thunder Netball Superleague star Sara Bayman who was also joined by her Northern Thunder team mate and Back to Netball Development Officer for the North West Rachel Henry. The two players were said to be “excited” and “have everything crossed” that the bid is successful. The players were joined in their excitement by South Manchester’s St John’s Primary School’s netball team who were invited by Helen Davies, England Netball’s Netball Development Officer for Manchester, to show their support for the bid.

Netball star Tracey Neville, born in Bury and who started her netball career in the North West, has played for England over 70 times including previous World Netball Championships and on learning of the bid said: “To host the World Netball Championships in Manchester would be an unbelievable opportunity for not only the city but netball as a sport. Manchester is a place where success in sport is like breathing, a necessity that we all take for granted but keeps the city alive and the rewards are evident when we look at the talented athletes across all sports. Netball as a sport is on the up and is attracting lucrative sponsorship and media opportunities and this will only increase if we were to win the bid and attract more people to the sport that has given me great joy over the last 25 years. “

Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have also expressed an interest in hosting the 2015 Championships. IFNA will announce its decision next July which coincides with the World Netball Championships 2011 taking place in Singapore.