World Cup team to be notified as pay dispute with Netball Australia ends
UPDATE: Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players' Association (ANPA) have finally reached a collective playing agreement for the 2023 Netball World Cup.
With the full playing terms now set for the Australian Diamonds squad, players will begin to be notified of the outcome of their selection.
This week, the governing body refused to name the Diamonds squad for next month's World Cup in South Africa amid an ongoing pay dispute with the players.
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Australian Diamonds players ahead of the Constellation Cup match against New Zealand in Auckland. Getty
The final team will remain under wraps until Netball Australia makes a formal team announcement in due course.
"We have come to an agreement with the ANPA to provide certainty to the playing group and we're looking forward to supporting the team throughout the 2023 Netball World Cup," Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said.
The Australian Netball Players' Association (ANPA) had demanded a greater revenue share, which the indebted governing body argued wasn't possible.
Netball Australia is currently $4.2 million in debt.
Netball Australia previously said it could not afford the players' demands but offered an "upside provision" if the sport overachieves on its metrics in the next three years.
Speaking on SEN 1116 on Wednesday, former Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander sympathised with players who she said were being "held to ransom" over the issue.
The Australian Netball Players' Association was left frustrated by pay talks. Mark Kolbe via Getty Images
However, Netball Australia declared that it was within its rights to withhold the naming of the squad until player contracts were signed in full.
The players' association said it wanted Netball Australia to remove the national team's World Cup plans from negotiations.
In a statement, the ANPA said players had initially reacted with "confusion, sadness and anger".
"The players unanimously agreed to invite NA (Netball Australia) to decouple national selection from industrial negotiations; and, in the name of wellbeing, advise all players who have been selected for the Diamonds 2023 World Cup squad," the ANPA wrote on Wednesday.
"The players make these requests to preserve the sanctity of the Australian uniform, to support the wellbeing of players and in support of good faith negotiations and not bad faith negotiations."
Steph Wood (left) and Liz Watson (middle) of the Australian Diamonds during game two of the Constellation Cup series between the New Zealand Silver Ferns. Mark Tantrum via Getty Images
Netball Australia claimed it has been in negotiations with the players' association for a year but the ANPA denied that assertion.
The ANPA said negotiations had only spanned a few weeks.
The Netball World Cup is set to get underway on July 28 in Cape Town.
Netball Australia will now turn its attention to signing a new Collective Players' Agreement for the Super Netball
No players from any of the Super Netball clubs are currently contracted beyond this season with the settlement still outstanding beyond September.
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