Don MacKinnon: Former Netball New Zealand Chair on the private investor supposedly in talks to take over the ANZ Premiership licence

New Zealand's professional netball ranks could be about to undergo the biggest shake-up in a generation. 

A private investor described as "a high net-worth family with sporting links" is in talks to take over the ANZ Premiership licence. 

Any new model would see a franchise league established for the 2028 season, not next year. 

Former Netball New Zealand chair Don Mackinnon says the move is timely in the current sporting landscape. 

He told Mike Hosking that the traditional federated model that moves through club, school, province, and international has served New Zealand sport superbly for over a century, but it’s under huge pressure now. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You plan for netball Netball New Zealand and talks apparently
over a privately owned league high networth family with sporting
links is the story. Don McKinnon is a former chair
of Netball News Inland is with us Morning, Good Money
and Mine. So you've been inside the room. Does do
you think the structure hold the game back? Is that
part of the problem or not?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Oh? Yes, I think you could probably say that about
most sports around the world. You know, the traditional federated
model if you like, of club and school and province
and then international and everyone pays their fees and goes
through the system. You know. I think it's a New
Zealand sport superbly for one hundred and twenty five years.

(00:41):
But I hope it's done a huge pressure now that
particular structure, and I think it's under huge pressure because
the world's changed so much in the last five or
ten years. So yeah, I do think half the issue
of sport in New Zealand and structure.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
So do you think getting a wealthy family a benefactor,
somebody investing from outside to run the whole kittenkaboodle at
elite level is the answer or problematic?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, if red beends more on the question. So to
run the whole thing at a bootle, No, definitely not.
But I think if you are looking at that level
between community and international sport, then you're competing for hearts
and minds of fans day in, day out, week and
week out, and you need a hell of a lot

(01:26):
of expertise, and you need a hell of a lot
of capital to do that successfully. And that other' typic
has change much. You know, if you think about a
ten year old with a phone or a fifteen year
old with a phone, that they can follow any sport
anywhere in the world, day in day out, every moment
of the day, without ever never going near a court,
without ever playing the game, and they can be obsensitive,

(01:47):
passionate fans. It's changed so much. And you know, the
great sports, the sports that are typically privately owned and
I shouldn't call them sports, are religious, say competitions. Those
competitions are fan and obsessive, and they are very capital rich,
and they do a great job at capturing those arts
and minds. I just think it's really hard to do

(02:08):
that under a traditional sport model.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
No, I agree, but the difficulty should we give I know,
I know what you're going to say when and to
ask anyway, should we give up on netball? The numbers
aren't there. I mean, yes, kids play it and they
love it fantastic, But at the elite level, the numbers
aren't there. People don't watch, they don't care.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah. Look I haven't been involved now for eighteen odd years,
but eighteen years ago it was it was lucky. I
was lucky enough to be involved in the sport. It
was absolutely booming and you know, we were world champions,
we were Games champions. Numbers are going through the roof.
Nepple can get back there. It's got good people still

(02:44):
heavily involved, It's got the foundation. It's just I think
it's that next level. You know, what are kids do
when they're coming out of school? Are they choosing to
stick at metal? Are they choosing to stick as fans?
And the numbers suggest maybe not as many are as
they used to be. Is it flexible? I suspect it is.
I think they probably need Australia in the mix somewhere.

(03:05):
To be honest, I think twenty five million or thirty
odd millions sitting across the ditch open up a whole
new world of investment. But look, I think it's salvage
of ball. I really do, and I hope it is
because it's a good sport with great people.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Appreciate your time. Don McKinnon form a chair of Knitball
New Zealand. For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,
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