THE EFL will launch a netball competition in 2014.
The competition will be played at the Eastern Indoor Sports Centre (Ferntree Gully Road, Knoxfield) on Friday nights.
The season will start with a round robin tournament before Easter, followed by the season proper commencing on 2 May and culminating in finals being played at the same time as football finals in August and September.
EFL CEO Phil Murton says the two sports go hand-in-hand, exemplified by the highly successful country football-netball model in regional areas.
“We are excited by this development, which we think has the ability to help grow participation and community engagement for both sports. We look forward to growing netball in the East and the wider EFL community,” he said.
“Despite being structured differently with a centralised match venue, the success of netball competitions ran in conjunction with other football leagues across Melbourne demonstrates the potential for a strong connection between the two sports.”
Murton says the competition has been largely driven by clubs who have seen the benefits of the two sports combining in other competitions nearby and in the country.
“There has been a lot of discussion from clubs to the EFL regarding netball over the last few years. A number of our clubs already have pre-existing relationships with local netball clubs, so they may work with those clubs to field a team or build from within,” he said.
“We think it works in well with Netball Victoria’s Strategic Plan of having more people play netball more often. It will also complement other netball competitions in the East.
“We are aiming for an eight to 10-team competition in year one then hope that growth will continue quickly as clubs see the benefits of this initiative.”
Expression of Interest from clubs is being sought at present. All enquiries should be directed to Phil Murton at the EFL offices on 9762 5766.