New Zealand’s netball establishment is about to try a very different game plan.

Netball New Zealand has agreed in principle to hand the running of its domestic league to entrepreneur Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams, from 2027. The pair are already co-owners of A-League football club Auckland FC.

While the couple would run the professional competition, the national body would still look after the Silver Ferns, national selection, player pathways and the community game.

The move could bring more money and commercial expertise into the professional game. But it also comes with a challenge: ensuring what is good for the business is also good for the sport.

A tricky balancing act

We already see different versions of this separation in New Zealand. The privately owned Warriors league franchise and Breakers basketball franchise compete in Australian leagues while national bodies govern their respective sports. Auckland FC operates on a similar model in football.

New Zealand Rugby remains more closely tied to its professional game. In 2022, it partnered with US private-equity firm Silver Lake, which invested in a new entity set up to run NZR’s commercial operations.

But the experience shows private investment is no simple fix. In 2025, NZR moved to simplify the structure, bringing its commercial and rugby operations closer together under a single chief executive and management team.

New Zealand Cricket has........

© The Conversation