How to qualify in Netball
How teams qualify for the Netball World Cup
Checked 20 October 2026Valid for: Not covered: how the World Netball rankings are worked out (see the netball ranking page); the Netball World Youth Cup.
The Netball World Cup has 16 teams. For Sydney 2027:
- Six are invited without qualifying: the host, Australia, and the top five on the World Netball rankings of 1 December 2025: New Zealand, Jamaica, England, South Africa and Uganda.
- Ten come from five regional qualifiers, the top two in each: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
India's route was the Asia qualifier (Hong Kong, August 2026). Hong Kong and Singapore took Asia's two places.
The regional qualifiers
| Region | Host | Dates | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | Hong Kong | August 2026 | Singapore, Hong Kong |
| Oceania | Tonga | September 2026 | Samoa, Tonga |
| Africa | Kenya | 19 to 26 September 2026 | Malawi, Namibia |
| Europe | Scotland | 25 to 27 September 2026 | Scotland, Northern Ireland |
| Americas | Barbados | 19 to 26 October 2026 | being played now |
Sri Lanka missed the World Cup for the first time since 2007.
The rankings route
The ranking that counted was the World Netball ranking of 1 December 2025, including every result to midnight GMT that day. Uganda took sixth place (the last one with an invitation, behind the host) by going unbeaten at the Celtic Cup and pushing Wales down to seventh. A team needs at least eight ranked games to appear on the list.
The World Cup format
From 2027 the tournament has a Cup and a Plate competition, all matches in one venue, over 12 days. World Netball said the qualification process stays the same as before for this edition.