England Netball is delighted to announce the Vitality Netball Superleague line-up for the 2019 season.
London Pulse will enter the competition – becoming the first Central London-based club – while Team Northumbria have decided to withdraw.
Natalie Seaton’s side will stage all their home fixtures at the iconic Copper Box Arena.
England Netball CEO, Joanna Adams, said: “We are delighted to welcome London Pulse into the Vitality Netball Superleague for 2019.
“They submitted an excellent proposal and it’s brilliant to have new investment into the league.
“All of their home fixtures will be played at the iconic Copper Box Arena and this is fantastic news for the London region, who will have even more live elite sport on their doorstep and it’ll continue to help inspire and grow aspirations of netballers in the area.
“London Pulse have enjoyed considerable success in the Netball Performance League over the last few years and we can’t wait to see lots of new talent on show.
“We are sure they will be keen to make their mark and be as competitive as possible in their first season and we know that the other sides will relish the challenge of facing a new team.”
Natalie Seaton, London Pulse CEO, commented: “We are all delighted that London Pulse will be part of the Vitality Netball Superleague in 2019, I would like to thank all those involved and England Netball for this opportunity.
“It is the start of a new chapter for netball in London, and we can’t wait for our launch festival on 29th September at the Copper Box Arena to showcase some of the exciting things that we have planned.”
The 2019 Vitality Netball Superleague will start in January 2019.
Wasps Netball will be back with the aim of defending their crown once again, while Loughborough Lightning will look to go one better.
Team Bath will be chasing an historic sixth title, while Severn Stars will want to build on their impressive end-of-season-run in 2018.
Manchester Thunder, Surrey Storm, Celtic Dragons, UWS Sirens and benecosMavericks will also all return.
England Netball would like to place on record our appreciation of the work and dedication of all involved with Team Northumbria, who have decided to withdraw from the league.
Discussing Team Northumbria’s withdrawal, Franchise Director, Sue Vout, said: “Northumbria’s participation in the Vitality Netball Superleague has been extremely rewarding, and while we are sad to be leaving we believe that we are making the right decision within our wider sports strategy.
“Northumbria University remains committed to high performance sport, including Netball and also has exciting plans to increase participation and engagement across all levels.
“As well as continuing to compete in the British Universities and Colleges League, we are taking steps to preserve elite Netball in Newcastle and are in early discussions with potential partners about the future development of the game in the region.
“We feel that this is an opportunity for us to work with key partners to grow netball in both Newcastle and the North East, on the back of the recent success that the England team had in the Commonwealth Games.”
England Netball is looking forward to working with all teams to make the 2019 Vitality Netball Superleague as competitive as possible.
The ten teams who will take part in the 2019 Vitality Netball Superleague are as follows:
benecosMavericks, Celtic Dragons, London Pulse, Loughborough Lightning, Manchester Thunder, Severn Stars, Surrey Storm, Team Bath, UWS Sirens, Wasps Netball
