Netball New Zealand has confirmed it will hand ownership of the national domestic league over to private investors in 2027.

The national body announced this morning it signed a non-binding term sheet with investors Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams on Friday to control the league from next season and beyond.

Work now begins on developing the league, with very few details readily available including what franchises will be involved, league timeframes and broadcast deals.

NNZ worked with investors to ensure a minimum of five teams would be involved in 2027.

Competition format, team structure and season dates would be confirmed by the investors and player terms will be determined through collective bargaining with the New Zealand Netball Players’ Association.

A long form agreement will be signed in the near future, which will see the licence for the competition and teams held by investors and NNZ assuming a governance role on the board that will be established for the new league.

NNZ chief executive Jennah Wootten said the announcement gave the netball community clarity after a period of uncertainty.

"We are pleased to announce that significant progress has been made towards securing the future of New Zealand's elite domestic netball competition," Wootten said.

"While there remains a lot of work to do, we can today confirm that we are advancing work on a model that will provide a meaningful professional competition and career pathway for players.

"This model will ensure that fans and our community will have teams to support, and that young people around the country will have athletes to look up to."

More in tomorrow’s Otago Daily Times. — Allied Media