Wales' Netball Super League side Celtic Dragons rebranded as Cardiff Dragons

The newly named Cardiff Dragons will announce their squad for the 2024 season next week

Wales' Netball Super League franchise has been rebranded to become Cardiff Dragons ahead of the new season.

The team have been known as the Celtic Dragons since the formation of the elite league 18 years ago.

But club officials say they now want to create a greater tie to the Welsh capital, where they play their home fixtures.

The rebrand is also set to see the Dragons play one-off fixtures at larger venues in the city.

Cardiff Dragons and Wales Netball CEO Vicki Sutton said: "Cardiff is where we train, and where we compete, it's our HQ and home. The city is a strong brand we want to use to enhance our own profile."

The Dragons finished bottom of the Super League last season and are set to reveal their new squad next week as they aim for improvement.

Sutton says the rebrand is about more than a fresh start.

"Cardiff is an absolute hub of technology, hospitality, innovation, so aligning with that just makes sense for us," Sutton told BBC Wales Sport.

"We are also one of very few teams in the Super League that don't have a sort of geographical hook in their name, so just grabbing hold of the Cardiff identity absolutely made sense.

"It's a subtle shift and you won't see much of a change to the kit and logo, but it will be grabbing hold of Cardiff and aligning ourselves with the other professional sports clubs already in the city.

"With Cardiff City, Cardiff Rugby, Glamorgan Cricket and Cardiff Devils, we would essentially be the fifth team, something that is really exciting considering those other four are quite male-dominated in terms of their profile. It'll be exciting to bring a first female sport into that collection."

Sutton says fans from outside Cardiff were consulted on the name change, and she hopes it will not alienate any supporters.

The Celtic Dragons moved from the smaller Sport Wales centre to the city's House of Sport venue for last season, but Sutton says they now have aspirations to play some games at larger venues.

"We want to level up," she said.

"We're on a very quick upward trajectory which isn't too dissimilar to women's sport in general, and certainly netball, following the success of the World Cup and the success of our neighbours, the England Roses at the World Cup. Netball is thriving and all we're doing is meeting demand."