Netball Superleague: 2020 season terminated with immediate effect

Reigning champions Manchester Thunder will not get the opportunity to defend their title in 2020

The 2020 Netball Superleague season has been terminated with immediate effect because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The season was suspended on 15 March after only three full rounds of fixtures.

Governing body England Netball made the "difficult decision" following consultation with the league's board, all 10 teams and stakeholders.

Instead a "standalone short-form" competition could be held in the autumn if "achievable and safe to do so".

England Netball chief executive Fran Connolly said she was also in discussions over a small-scale international tournament with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, which could take place in the autumn to keep up the national side's sharpness, provide revenue to help the Superleague and keep the sport in the public eye.

Why was the season ended?

"It has become clear that large sporting gatherings will unlikely be deemed safe in coming months," said Connolly.

"And after lengthy discussions, we believe it would not be logistically possible or sustainable without crowds to reignite the season, which we are very disappointed to have to announce, but it's vital we no longer keep teams and players in limbo on the matter."

Connolly added that it was "absolutely not a decision we've taken lightly" and that 10 weeks of attempting to work out a viable alternative had come to nothing.

What has the reaction been?

Manchester Thunder head coach Karen Greig said she felt England Netball had "gone a bit early with their decision" to terminate the season and her team "desperately wanted to defend our title".

"Devastated the season has been null and voided. Was really hoping for some kind of resolve when safe to do so!" she added on Twitter.

However Loughborough Lightning counterpart Sara Bayman said she thought the decision had come at the right time.

"They had to make a decision to give teams and players a level of clarity," she told BBC Sport.

"I don't think anything was going to be played this year, certainly with a crowd, and without a crowd teams feel like they are just throwing money down a black hole."

Surrey Storm head coach Mikki Austin said it was "100% the right decision" and told fans to concentrate on making the 2021 season "the most amazing product it can possibly be".

Sam Bird, the chief executive of London Pulse, said that a return to some sort of action in the autumn was "absolutely essential."

"Our athletes want to compete, it is in their DNA. They need something to aim for."

What does it mean for future of Superleague?

In the short term, the sold-out Grand Final, scheduled for the Copper Box on 4 July, will no longer go ahead and fans with tickets will be offered a refund.

However Connolly said that the financial impact of the cancellation would take longer to assess.

"We will undoubtedly be hit hard by this pandemic and it's not something that will run its course just through this financial year," she added.

"We'll see the impact over the next couple of years."

Connolly also insisted that England Netball hoped to protect the 10 top-tier teams by only returning to action when all were ready to do so.

"Certainly the clubs are pulling together to make sure they support each other in this difficult time," she said.