Rebecca Sowden: Former Football Fern on Netball Australia's new sponsors

Netball Australia has signed a $15 million sponsorship deal with Visit Victoria just over a week after Hancock Prospecting pulled its contract with the sport.

Under the deal, which will run from 2023 to 2027, the Australian Diamonds will wear Visit Victoria branding on the uniform and players and coaches will appear in tourism campaigns to promote Victoria as a travel destination.

Victoria will effectively become the home of the Diamonds and will host at least one international Test match for the next five years.

The Diamonds will also hold their high performance training camps in the state.

On top of that, the new deal means the 2023 Super Netball Grand Final will be held in Victoria.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he was “thrilled” to announce the deal, declaring it a major “coup” for the state.

“This is just a really fantastic day for us to be able to secure this sponsorship deal,” he said.

“Victoria is a proud sporting state, and we are delighted to announce a new partnership with Visit Victoria. The partnership will guarantee Victorians the opportunity to experience more netball across the next four and a half years,” Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said.

Diamonds captain Liz Watson added: “This is a significant partnership for the Origin Australian Diamonds as we prepare to defend our Commonwealth Games gold medal in Victoria in 2026.

“Visit Victoria is a proud supporter of netball, and this investment will benefit all levels of our game.”

The deal with Visit Victoria, the state’s tourism agency, will only enhance Melbourne’s status as the so-called sporting capital of the Australia — adding to a calendar already boasting the Australian Open, AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, cricket’s Boxing Day Test match and the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park.

The contract with Visit Victoria is a major boost to Netball Australia, which was desperately searching for a new sponsor after Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting pulled its $15 million deal.

Now the sport’s governing has found a replacement, with Visit Victoria’s deal exactly the same amount Hancock Prospecting withdrew.

Indigenous player Donnell Wallam had expressed concern about wearing the Hancock Prospecting logo because of comments made by Rinehart’s father and Hancock Prospecting founder Lang Hancock.

Donnell Wallam of the Australia Diamonds. Photo / Getty

In an interview in the 1980s, Hancock proposed parts of the Indigenous community should be sterilised so they would “breed themselves out”.

The breakdown of the deal with Hancock sparked heated responses from Australian sporting legends including Andrew Gaze, Anthony Mundine and Dawn Fraser, politicians, as well as media personalities such as Lisa Wilkinson and Tony Armstrong.

There had been calls for Australian billionaire companies including software firm Atlassian to intervene but Netball Australia has found an alternative.

Netball Australia’s other major sponsors including Suncorp, Origin Energy and Nissan have stated they are standing by the Diamonds and will continue their funding of netball in Australia.

The sport’s governing body is reportedly $7 million in debt due to costs associated with running the Super Netball competition during the pandemic.

Just four months ago, in June, Netball Australia was issued a “going concern” notice from auditors after losing a whopping $7.2 million in just two years.

The deal with Visit Victoria will go a long way to recouping those losses.

On the court, Wallam made a fairytale Diamonds debut last week in the series opener against England, coming off the bench in the last quarter and scored the matchwinning buzzer beat goal in the one-goal victory.

The Diamonds took an unassailable 2-0 series lead against the Roses with a dominant 56-48 victory in game two on Sunday night.