Wales rises to highest ever place in INF World Rankings

Welsh Netball is pleased to share the news that the Wales senior netball team has risen from eighth to seventh place in the International Netball Federation (INF) World Rankings. This is Wales’ highest ever place in the world rankings which were first published in 2008.

Sarah Jones, CEO of Welsh Netball said: “Myself and the Welsh Netball board are delighted about Wales’ rise to seventh in the world rankings. It is testament to the outstanding work of our players, coaches and management – many of whom are volunteers – that we have achieved this.”

“It is also down to the exemplary attitude of our athletes that we have reached this milestone. They have made so many sacrifices in terms of family and work to travel the world to face the strongest possible competition.”

She added: “As a sport with limited resources, we punch above our weight on the global stage. Moving up to seventh in the world is something that the whole Welsh Netball family can rightly feel proud of. We are particularly grateful for the support of Sport Wales who have assisted us on this journey.”

Trish Wilcox, Head Coach, expressed her pride at the news. She said: “I am extremely proud of Wales’ new ranking of seventh in the world, particularly as this is the highest position Wales has achieved since world rankings was introduced.” 

She added: “This is the culmination of hard work and dedication by the players, support team and the staff at Welsh Netball over the last three years.”

“We are looking to build on our performances so far to further challenge the countries above us and continue to move up the world rankings.”

The release of the updated rankings comes as Wales prepares to take on England, Scotland and Northern Ireland in the upcoming Netball Europe Open Championship taking place in the Sport Wales National Centre, 5-8 October. This year’s visiting team will be the Fiji Pearls who head to Wales for the first ever time in their history.

Wales will then be preparing to travel to Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia which are due to take place 4-15 April 2018. There, they will face New Zealand, England and Scotland among others in Pool B.