Netball World Cup 2019: '160,000 women take up sport after tournament'

Commonwealth champions England won bronze at the 2019 World Cup

The 2019 Netball World Cup inspired 160,000 adult women to take up the sport, new research commissioned by England Netball has found.

England won bronze at the tournament, which more than six million Britons said they "followed or attended".

The research, conducted by YouGov, also found that 20.1 million adults were proud England hosted the tournament.

Over five million people who followed the World Cup in Liverpool said the Roses were an inspiration to all girls.

"The Vitality Netball World Cup was an absolute whirlwind and a huge success," said Joanna Adams, the former chief executive of England Netball, who departed the organisation after the tournament.

"It was the best-sold Netball World Cup to date and we had 9,900 people register their interest to volunteer at the tournament, plus extensive press coverage across the 10 days.

"It seemed as though everyone was talking about netball during that time and the buzz around Liverpool was spine-tingling. While the Vitality Roses didn't get the colour they were gunning for, they truly had the backing of the nation during every game and inspired many to have a go at the sport."

Outside of the YouGov survey, England Netball recorded a 1,000% increase in visits to its online netball session finder at the end of the World Cup, compared to two weeks prior.

In addition, 71% of clubs said more people had shown an interest in playing netball than before the tournament started.

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the BBC in 2019, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.