Premier League football clubs could hold the key to netball's future in England

Real Madrid have a top-level basketball team and Paris St-Germain prop up one of Europe’s best handball sides - now Premier League football clubs are poised to play a pivotal role in helping to secure netball's future in England.

Despite winning a dramatic Commonwealth Games netball gold medal against Australia last month, a huge financial shortfall is imminent when funding for England's national side is removed entirely next year.

With the governing body currently unable to fund its elite players beyond 2019, the hope is that netball clubs can fill the void and shoulder the financial burden themselves.

England netball bosses have identified a multi-sport model as the most likely way of achieving that aim and a number of top-flight football and rugby clubs in England have already expressed an interest in creating a netball arm.

READ MORE: Emery poised to replace Wenger at Arsenal

READ MORE: West Ham appoint Pellegrini as boss

READ MORE: Man City in fresh Mahrez talks

That process began when Wasps rugby union club expanded to create Wasps Netball in 2016, with the new side winning the Netball Superleague in their first season of existence and currently sitting unbeaten at the top of the table with 12 wins from 12 games this year. Telegraph Sport understands Saracens, Northampton Saints and Leeds Rhinos are just some of the clubs looking into following Wasps' lead, while Premier League clubs are also considering expanding beyond the male-dominated world of football.

Able to reap the benefits of the rugby club’s existing infrastructure, Wasps Netball are in the rare position of being able to pay every one of their players a fee as they take a crucial step on the path to full professionalism.

Joanna Adams, England Netball chief executive, says the league leader's success is proof of a model she would love to see replicated across the country.

“We've got some fascinating interest from other entities to come in and join the league, which is fantastic for us because we’ve all seen the success of what Wasps have done,” she told Telegraph Sport.

“The Wasps model has been fantastic. There's already an infrastructure there and they understand how to professionalise and commercialise sport.

“There are lots of different options - we have some standalone clubs that are able to be commercially viable and there is investment from other entities. Post-Commonwealth Games we've had a couple of people approach us with an interest in investing in netball and Superleague.

“But I think linking with an existing club is a really strong proposition because they already have a fanbase and they have that infrastructure that they can put in place around their athletes.

“We have some interest from other rugby and football clubs, and it’s definitely a model we want to follow. We’ve just written a five-year plan for Superleague and we believe in five years professionalism is where we aim to be.

“That's not for every single player to be professional. But it's certainly for the England girls and top girls, that they would be professional players. We've set our goal that netball can be a career.”

Former England player Tamsin Greenway represented numerous clubs in England and Australia before moving to Wasps to become the club’s first director of netball. She says the benefits of linking with the rugby union club have been significant.

“It seemed the right way for the sport to grow - having a bigger brand behind it and linking with other sports as well,” she said.

“In terms of all the background staff, from ticketing to media and PR, we are all the same. Obviously we don't train with the rugby players, but I know the video guys and in terms of the brand, whether that's kit or colours, it all flows through.

“It's still not semi-pro, but all our players are paid so they all get something to train properly, whether they are a university student or in full-time work. That has obviously helped and has allowed us to train more, which is brilliant.

“The set-up we have means we can play our matches at the Ricoh Arena [owned by Wasps rugby union club] and we have the hotel on site so the players are able to stay - it's those things that you're perhaps not able to do at other clubs.

“It's still not perfect and we still have to invest more into the programme to make it bigger and better, but it's the first step in professionalising the game.

“Wasps is a great example to other sporting teams that linking in with netball can really help what they've got already and grow. I would hope that's what we're pushing out there because this is not just about one club - it's about all of us working together to grow netball.”