Australian cricketers have shown their solidarity with the nation’s netball players by establishing a “resilience fund”. The fund is aimed at assisting them during a financial disagreement with their governing organization.
Australia’s Diamonds secured victory in the Netball World Cup in August, all while contending with internal conflicts. Furthermore, The Super Netball players have been without contracts since the end of September.
This assistance encompasses the establishment of a fund to provide aid to netball players during their period of unemployment. The ACA has expressed its intention to engage in discussions with the Australian Athletes’ Alliance and various player associations in order to collaborate on this initiative.
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Todd Greenberg, the Chief Executive of the ACA, made a committed pledge to stand by the netball players until they achieve their objectives. He also urged Netball Australia to formulate a sustainable growth model with a partnership structure akin to the five-year agreement that cricketers have successfully negotiated with Cricket Australia. He said, “The netballers are leaning on friends and family for financial support. What is disappointing is that the netballers’ requests are modest and affordable for the sport. The ACA believes they should be given the same partnership opportunities as our players – the same opportunities that have seen cricket thrive.”
At the core of this matter lies the players’ strong advocacy for a revenue-sharing model. However, The eight Super Netball clubs and Netball Australia (NA) are in favor of a three-year profit-sharing arrangement.
This contentious issue came to a head last week, marked by a public dispute between the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) and NA. The issue popped just ahead of the Constellation Cup series between Australia and New Zealand.
It’s noteworthy that Australia’s cricketers have previously waged a battle to uphold a revenue-sharing system in their own sport in 2017. This history of the cricketers’ struggle is one of the factors motivating them to personally contribute funds to support the netballers.
