• Netball Classic Tournament
  Date: 22nd - 23rd November, 2025
  Organiser: Florida State Netball Association,  U.S.A
  Venue: Miami Florida State, U. S. A

• Africa Netball  Cup Tournament
  Date: 7th- 13th December, 2025
  Venue: Lilongwe, Malawi
  Organiser: Africa Netball

The Netball Federation of Ghana is seeking sponsorship drive  for the participation in the Florida State Netball  Classic Tournament  in November, 2025 and the Africa Netball Cup Tournament in  December, 2025.

TARGET: $400,000

The Netball Federation of Ghana is an official governing body that oversees the development, promotion and regulation of the game of Netball within Ghana. The male goal of the Federation is to increase participation in the sports, create competitive opportunities for players at all levels, and support the growth of the game of Netball in Ghana.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE NETBALL FEDERATION OF GHANA

1. Organizing national competitions and leagues for clubs, schools, and individuals, providing players with opportunities to compete at various levels of the game.
2. Developing and implementing coaching and officiating programs to ensure a high standard of coaching and officiating in the game of Netball in Ghana.
3. Promoting and marketing the sports of Netball to attract new players, fans, and sponsors.
4. Establishing and enforcing rules and regulations to ensure fair play and sportsmanship in all Netball competitions.
5. Working with government agencies, sports organizations, and other stakeholders to secure funding and resources for the development of Netball in Ghana.
6. Representing the country in international Netball competitions and governing bodies, such as World Netball Federation.
7. Providing support and guidance to member clubs, schools and associations to help them grow and develop their Netball programs.
8. Collaborating with schools, universities and community organizations to promote the benefits of playing Netball and encourage participation in the sports.

Overall, the Netball Federation plays a crucial role in fostering the growth and success of Netball in Ghana by providing leadership, support, and resources to players, coaches, and officials at all levels of the game.

In 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts in the USA, 30-year-old , James Naismith, was ordered to Invent an indoor game for high-spirited young men at the School for Christian Workers (later the YMCA).

So Naismith conjured up a game whereby a ball has to be lobbed into a high peach basket (his reasoning being that is a ball has to dropped into the "goal", it couldn't be thrown at breakneck speed). Basketball was born... with the original game featuring nine players-three forwards, three centres and three guards.

Women's Indoor basketball began exactly two days later when female teachers to the gym were captivated by the game but it wasn't until 1895 that the current game of Netball was well and truly shaped.

When Clara Baer, a Sports Teacher in New Orleans, wrote to Naismith asking for a copy of the rules, the subsequent rules package contained a drawing of the court with lines pencilled across it. simply to show the areas various players could best patrol.

But Baer misinterpreted the lines and thought players couldn't leave those areas! In 1899 her mistake was ratified into the rules of women's basketball as zones.

Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg's College. In the first half of the 20th century, Netball's popularity continued to grow, with the game being played in many British Commonwealth countries. There were no standard rules at that time with both nine-a-side and five-s-side versions of the game.

During an Australian tour of England in 1957, discussions took place concerning standardizing the rules of the sport and this led to representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies meeting in Sri Lanka in 1960 to establish The International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball now Known as World Netball. Formal rules were established at this inaugural meeting and it was decided to hold World Championship tournaments every four years, beginning in Eastbourne, England, in 1963.

In 1995 Netball became a "recognized" Olympic Sport and one of IFNAs (now World Netball) objectives is to ensure this status is retained and encourage the International Olympic Committee to include Netball in the Olympic Games Programme in the future.

Netball was included in the Commonwealth Games programme, for the first time, in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, where Australia took the Gold medal, New Zealand Silver and England the Bronze. It was also a programmed sport in 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where Australia again tool the Gold medal, New Zealand Silver and Jamaica edging out England for the Bronze. Netball is now a core sport in the Commonwealth Games.

HISTORY OF NETBALL IN GHANA

The game of Netball was introduced into Ghana, the then Gold Coast, by the Missionaries who brought education into the country. The country's Central Organization of Sports (C.O.S), under the late Ohene Djan, created a desk for Netball development at the C.O.S, this desk liaised with the Schools and Colleges Federations to ensure the development of Netball in Schools and Colleges throughout the country.

Thus, in the 1980s and 1970s, Netball was very popular in Schools and Colleges in the country and ranked second only to football or was on the same level as Football (Soccer).

Netball was a major sporting activity in all Schools and Colleges during the 1960's to the middle of the 1970's. Famous Schools that were giant’s in Netball during those years which easily come to mind included Kadjebi Secondary School, then coached by Mr. S.K. Hlodje, Offinso Training College, Wesley College in Kumasi, Tarkwa Secondary School, Presby Secondary School, Osu, to mention but a few

Schools and Colleges Netball competitions were held throughout the country, with the country divided into zones, and this culminated in the final being held at the Accra Sports Stadium from 1970 to 1974.

In the 1974/75 Academic year the Ghana Education Service (G.ES) decided to ‘step down’ Netball in favour of the development of Basketball in Schools and Colleges in the country. So, from 1975, Competitive Netball was not played in schools and colleges in the country. This led to the relegation of Netball to the background in the country.

Revival of Netball in Ghana.
During the Golden jubilee Celebration of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in 1985, the Corporation organized a Netball tournament as part of the activities to mark their 50th anniversary. This was as a result of the initiative and prompting of Rev. Emmanuel Djani Nikoi, then a Chief Editor (News) of the Radio News Room of G.B.C.

This influenced the formation of Netball clubs in institutions in Accra, including the GBC itself (the GBC team was called Golden Hands), SIC, Banks, National Lottery Authority, GIOHOC Distilleries, Psychiatric Hospital, etc.

After the Golden Jubilee celebration, the GBC Netball team was not dissolved and Rev. Nikoi used the team as a catalyst to revive the game of netball in the country by touring the whole country to teach the rules of netball to institutions and Sports Teachers of the G.E.S. This led to the formation of the Netball Association of Ghana in 1988, now called Netball Federation of Ghana, which was recognized by the National Sports Council, now National Sports Authority, in 1990 as a National Sports Association then headed by Group Captain Ben Cole.

The Netball Federation of Ghana in now Affiliated to Africa Netball, the Netball Controlling body in Africa and to the World Netball Controlling body, World Netball. It is also the Headquarters of AFRICA NETBALL – WEST AFRICA ZONE.