A landmark era:ANZ Championship

A realisation of a long-held dream.

A new brand of high octane netball.

That’s ANZ Championship!

Just days out from the first match in the inaugural ground-breaking competition, Chair of the ANZ Championship Board and President of Netball Australia, Noeleen Dix said the launch in Australia was a significant milestone in the sport’s history.

This is an extract of what Noeleen Dix said to a packed audience at the launch at the hallowed sporting venue, the MCG.

“We are celebrating the amalgamation of the talents of Australian netballers and their closest fiercest rival, New Zealand in the launch of the ANZ Championship.

After many years of talking about creating a competition together, we are now just days away from playing the premier netball competition in the world.

A competition that boasts five franchises from each country and has attracted the best players from both countries, along with a dash of international flair, to sign on to one of the 10 teams.

Our broadcast partners, SKY Sport & FoxSports will show each of the 69 matches LIVE on both sides of the Tasman, showcasing the sport like never before.

This league is youthful, flamboyant, high intensity and will be physically spectacular.

Corporate support is the lifeblood of professional sport and we are delighted that ANZ, GM Holden and Fisher & Paykel have joined us in this partnership as the Championship naming rights and major sponsors.

And the teams are finalising their sponsors and boosting their partnerships for their campaigns to win the inaugural ANZ Championship.

It is this very valuable commercial support and the ever so important media attention and buzz, which will take this competition to the people of Australia and New Zealand to create a ground swell of fanatical support in both countries for this new brand of netball.

When that message gets out and the sport of netball is recognised as an exciting spectator sport, both court side and on television by the Australian population, then netball will become the complete sport – most successful on the international stage, largest participant and commercially successful sport in Australia.

Most of you know that to be a fact and it will be this competition that takes us closer to making that a reality.

As Chair of the Board that oversees this competition, I am very proud to be introducing this new era for netball to you and wish each of the 10 teams all the very best in their quest to reach a new dream and become the best ANZ Championship team in 2008.”