Netball, the UK’s most popular women’s sport, is still noticeably lacking from our TV screens
Aim to fill the Arena on 28 March for the derby game of London Pulse vs London Mavericks
Netball becomes fully professional for first time ever in 2025
The Copper Box Arena, home to London’s top netball team, London Pulse, has been filled many times before by men’s sport teams, but in 2025, it’s netball’s turn.
Edwin Doran and London Pulse’s #FillTheCopperBox campaign aims to fill all seats at the Copper Box Arena for an iconic first London netball derby at 7pm on 28 March 2025, sure to be a nail-biting match between London Pulse and London Mavericks.
2025 is set to be a blockbuster year for women’s sport in London, with the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham, women’s tennis returning to Queen’s Club for the first time in over 50 years, and the Women’s Super League football growing at an unprecedented rate. But netball, the UK’s most popular women’s sport, is still noticeably lacking from our screens.
Broadcast by Sky Sports, to be a part of this record breaking evening, purchase tickets here.
Edwin Doran, the UK’s top provider of school sports tours and matchday sponsor of London Pulse developed the #FillTheCopperBox campaign to celebrate the Netball Super League (NSL) relaunching in 2025 as a professional league for the first time, further professional netball’s fanbase in the UK and provide young girls across the country with real-life netball heroes to inspire them.
Edwin Doran has taken more teams on tour than any other sports tour operator, over 15,000 at the last count, particularly netball, rugby, football and hockey. The #FillTheCopperBox initiative is the first step in their objective to encourage girls in sport, with the aim of being the leading provider of girls’ sports tours.
Richard Twynam, Managing Director of Edwin Doran, says “With women’s sports rightly getting the attention they so deserve, we created the #FillTheCopperBox movement to put netball, the UK’s most popular women’s sport, into the spotlight.
“Over the past 50 years sending school netball teams on international tours, we’ve seen thousands of young girls hone their skills, build resilience and self-confidence, develop social skills, and form life-long friendships during school netball, only to be forced to drop their ambition of continuing the sport at a professional level due to a lack of career prospects. We are determined that as netball turns professional in 2025, we won’t have to see so many young girls travelling on our tours drop their sport after school.
“London Pulse has shown a real commitment to providing pathways into professional netball for young girls, and the players who range from solicitors to scientists and full time netballers, demonstrate that playing netball as a child creates successful women with ambition, diligence, and confidence.
“A long overdue sell-out game will show young girls nationwide that netball is only growing, and a professional career could be on their horizon.”
The data
Netball is one of the most accessible sports for girls across the UK no matter their economic background, but a lack of televised games means the sport still lacks a major public fanbase and a squad of iconic players for young players to aspire to. Due to this and a lack of career prospects, more and more young girls are dropping out of netball early.
Sport England data from December 2024 shows that children and young people who have a positive and meaningful relationship with activity are happier, more likely to keep trying until they can do something and more likely to trust others of a similar age to themselves.
However, boys (51%) are still more likely to be active than girls (45%). Girls have seen a greater drop in happiness (0.4%) than boys since 2018, and girls’ individual development is down 6.7% since 2018.
Girls’ positive attitudes towards sport has also decreased 4.4% compared to academic year 2017-18.
Edwin Doran also knows first-hand that playing a sport as a child leads to the development of key skills that allow adults to flourish. Indeed, EY’s Women Athletes Business Network and espnW found that 94% of C-suite women have played sports in their past.
Claire Williams, Marketing and Sponsorship Lead at London Pulse says “While netball remains the UK’s most popular women’s sport, with millions playing at all levels, more children are now quitting netball to play other sports, in part due to sports like football having televised matches, iconic players to look up to, and a pathway for a professional career. Edwin Doran’s #FillTheCopperBox initiative is just one of the ways of bringing in new fans.
London Pulse now has two performance pathways providing performance coaching and competition for London Pulse U15/17 and 19, as well as our sister pathway Pulse Power U15/17/19. Both pathways feed into the NXT Generation Squad and finally the London Pulse NSL squad.
We are committed to being part of the school and wider community, covering 32 London boroughs – extending our skills and experience to offer netball pathway coaching programmes, virtual camps, pathway trials, inspirational netball tours, annual corporate cup, disability and visually impaired netball, netball for the elderly and walking netball in as many parts of the city as possible.”
To attract as many school netball teams to the #FillTheCopperBox game as possible, Edwin Doran and London Pulse are offering a child group discount of Buy 10, get 1 free / Buy 20, get 3 free, available on the Edwin Doran site, linked here.
Ahead of the #FillTheCopperBox game on 28 March, a media day will be held on 18 February, at The Stratford Hotel.
1-4pm – media interviews at The Stratford Hotel – timeslots will be shared early February.
Media will have the opportunity to interview key players, such as:
Sophie Kelly, Shooter: Sophie made her Netball Super League debut for Surrey Storm in 2021 and joined London Pulse in 2024, where she is a key part of this season’s squad.
She earnt the Player of the Match award on her NSL debut, describing this achievement as her proudest netball moment so far. She was a member of the Roses Academy between 2019 and 2023 and has won Europe Netball gold with England at U17 and U21 level. Sophie is just 20 years old, and has been selected in the Future Roses programme for the first time in 2024-25.
Zara Everitt, Mid Court, Team Captain: After making her Netball Super League debut in 2017, Zara was made Captain of London Pulse in 2021.
Having played netball throughout her childhood, Zara is now pursuing a legal career as a solicitor alongside her netball career, drawing on the determination, ambition, and teamwork she’s learnt from sports.
Darcie Everitt, Defence: At just 18 years old, Darcie joined the London Pulse NSL side in 2024, following in older sister and team captain, Zara’s, footsteps. Darcie was in the London Pulse pathway for a number of years before making the step up to the NSL side and has just returned from representing England U21 on tour in Australia. Darcie can discuss how being brought up around performance sport created the foundation for her determination and success, and the realities of being captained by your older sister.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors:
Please reach out to request interviews on the media day of 18 February.
For further press information, please contact:
Hannah Carlisle | Caitlin Lesko
Rooster.
T: +44 (0)203 440 8930
E: [email protected]
W: www.rooster.co.uk
