Netball in Oceania is generally regarded as a woman's sport. Women's sports in Oceania have traditionally had a very low profile.[1] Despite this, netball is popular in Oceania, with its growth partly because of New Zealand encouraging the game and providing money for the training of coaches, umpires and other netball development needs.[2] In New Zealand and in neighbouring Australia,[3] netball is one of the most popular sports played by women.[4][5][6]
Netball is one of the sports at the Pacific Games, a multi-sport event, with participation from countries around the South Pacific, that is held every four years.[7] The popularity of netball is growing amongst men on the island countries in Oceania, because sport is an important way for villages to keep in touch with each other.[7] The game's popularity can also be seen in local languages, where words have been created to describe it. In Niue, the words include neteplo, pelê neteplo, pelê.[8] The Oceania Netball Federation (ONF) is the governing body for netball in the Oceania region.[9]