Gibraltar Netball sends three Performance Academy teams to Portugal

Gibraltar Netball will be heading to Portugal in the coming days, with three of its Performance Academy teams set to compete in an international netball tournament.
Netball in Portugal is a relatively small but developing sport, with organised clubs, youth programmes, regional tournaments and growing links with the international netball community. Its development is particularly interesting from a Gibraltar perspective, as Portugal works to create more opportunities for players and coaches while establishing a stronger national competitive structure.
Gibraltar, already an established member of both Europe Netball and World Netball and ranked 20th in the world rankings, is the highest-ranked nation on the Iberian Peninsula.
Portugal, meanwhile, saw the Associação Portuguesa de Netball (APN) established in 2022. On 26 August 2025, Europe Netball announced that Netball Portugal had been recognised as an emerging member, with World Netball also recognising the organisation as Portugal’s national representative.
The sport has nevertheless been growing, with international competitions taking place and activity particularly evident in the Algarve and Lisbon areas.
Gibraltar’s participation in an international tournament in Portugal comes as no surprise. Gibraltar Netball has become known for supporting other emerging associations as they work to develop the sport.
This week, two U16 teams and one U18 team from the Gibraltar Netball Performance Academy and pathway programmes will travel to Portugal to compete in what has been described as an “international netball tournament”.
“The competition will provide our young athletes with valuable international experience, challenging them against high-quality opposition while developing their skills.
“These opportunities are an important part of our commitment to developing the next generation of Gibraltar netballers, helping prepare them for future representative competitions, including the Europe Netball U17 and U21 events.
“We are proud of our players and look forward to seeing them continue to learn, grow and represent Gibraltar on the international stage.”
Although ranked 20th in the world, Gibraltar’s senior team did not compete in the recent World Cup qualifiers. This is understood to have been a decision taken by the association, allowing the Republic of Ireland, which sits further down the rankings, to compete instead. Gibraltar has nevertheless continued with its development programme as it builds towards the future.
The senior team, the Gibraltar Campions, will play a two-match international test series against Northern Ireland’s NI Warriors on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026 at the Antrim Forum in Northern Ireland.
With netball continuing to develop across Europe, France is already competing internationally, while Spain and Portugal are also emerging nations. Italy and the Netherlands are likewise developing their presence on the international scene.
Gibraltar Netball is continuing to assess its position and set its objectives for the future. Its player pathway policy, which guides athletes from grassroots participation through to senior level, has been one of the association’s key areas of development in recent years.