'Netball? You mean football?' - Now I'm England men's netball captain

Joining a men's netball nine successful England was not easy for James Thomson-Boston erstwhile he moved complete from Australia 9 years ago.

"When I came present I wanted to subordinate a men's netball team, and everyone was like, 'Oh, I deliberation you mean football?' - I was like, 'No, I mean netball'," nan 32-year-old told BBC Sport.

Now, he captains nan England men's squad and will lead his broadside retired for a three-match world bid against Australia, starting this play successful London.

"Netball has ever been thing your sister played, aliases nan girls played astatine school, aliases a athletics you were forced to play erstwhile you were for illustration 12," Thomson-Boston said.

But successful his experience, that's changing.

The England men's team, aliases nan England Thorns, played their first world lucifer successful October 2022, aft being formed conscionable 7 months earlier.

They were defeated by hosts Australia 73-27 but it was a landmark infinitesimal for men's netball backmost home.

"We didn't get group saying 'Oh God, you sewage beaten by 60 goals'. People were like, 'It was really awesome to spot you spell retired there, and show that nan UK is processing successful nan netball world'," Thomson-Boston said.

Since that tour, antheral information successful netball has much than tripled successful England. There are now complete 70 clubs crossed nan UK offering men's and mixed teams.

The England Men's and Mixed Netball Association, EMMNA, is looking to grow its National Championships fixed nan expanding request from clubs to beryllium involved.

There were 14 teams progressive successful nan first men's and mixed National Championships successful 2021. This year, they person 48 teams competing, pinch a further 10 connected a waiting list.

The men's crippled continues to turn astir nan world.

Australia, a ascendant unit successful some men's and women's netball, has been moving a Men's and Mixed Netball Championship for much than 40 years.

"People [in Australia] are encouraged from a young property to play nan athletics and to really spot it arsenic a viable option", Thomson-Boston said.

New Zealand, nan Caribbean and Americas regions each section men's nationalist teams, and clubs proceed to look crossed Africa.

Ryan Allan, president and laminitis of nan volunteer-run organisation EMMNA, believes nan biggest obstruction to nan maturation of men's netball successful England is funding.

All nan athletes successful nan England men's squad are self-funded, pinch Thomson-Boston saying they play "for nan pride" and "to further nan sport".

Allan identifies boys aged betwixt 11 to 16 arsenic those who thin to person constricted opportunities to proceed playing because of a deficiency of school-based netball programmes aliases pathways.

Then location is nan stigma of netball being a athletics "that nan girls played astatine school", which Thomson-Boston believes is changing.

"Less group are coming up to maine and saying, 'Oh, I thought that [netball] was for girls'," he said. "More group are saying, 'Oh, you tin play netball, you tin play men's netball and you play for England'."

The communicative of women's athletics fighting for nickname successful a historically male-dominated abstraction is simply a acquainted one.

But for netball, it is rather nan other position.

The women's crippled is supporting maturation successful nan men's ranks, pinch nan Netball Super League teams – nan elite women's clubs successful England – welcoming England men's players arsenic training partners.

The benefits are mutual.

London Pulse caput coach Sam Bird, pinch whose Super League squad Thomson-Boston trains, said: "The men play a somewhat different shape of nan game, truthful it's rather bully for challenging us.

"If you've been playing netball arsenic a female, coming up done nan ranks, you thin to benignant of play successful 1 style. The men create an unpredictable style for us, and nan girls really bask training against that benignant of unpredictability."

Pulse defender Darcie Everitt added: "They bring a batch of spot and they besides play really, really fast. As a defender, it's bully to practise against that style of play. They push america moreover further."

The men's matches against Australia are being promoted arsenic double-headers pinch Super League matches, wherever fans tin watch some nan England men and a Super League women's lucifer pinch a azygous ticket.

As men's netball continues to develop, protecting nan sport's personality arsenic a traditionally female-led athletics has go a cardinal portion of that journey, Thomson-Boston said.

"This was a female-led abstraction that was for females, aimed astatine females," he said. "We aren't coming successful to predominate that space. We conscionable want to summation nan magnitude of group who tin spot nan sport".

"Because it's a female-led sport, you are ever surrounded by this really inclusive feminine energy, I think, and they are nan ones welcoming group in."

There has ne'er been a men's netball World Cup - but location are ongoing discussions astir a imaginable motorboat successful 2027, nan aforesaid twelvemonth of nan women's Netball World Cup successful Sydney.

Could a men's World Cup tally alongside nan women's edition?

"The extremity end would beryllium that it runs successful tandem. Everyone is successful nan aforesaid area, each nan aforesaid energy, bringing each nan netball noise!" Thomson-Boston said.

As for nan Olympics, netball has yet to make its debut.

"The bigger we tin make it successful nan adjacent mates of years, nan much chance we're going to make it to nan Olympics," Thomson-Boston said. "I don't deliberation my knees will past until then, but who knows!"