England Roses legend Chelsea Pitman says she is ‘so happy’ as Forest Netball release their squad for their inaugural season in the Netball Super League next year.
The team was created as a part of Nottingham Forest’s multi-sport model, an idea pushed by the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis who developed a similar format at his former club Olympiacos.
“With the ten [players] we have, we have the capability of getting to the finals,” Chelsea, who was announced as the team’s head coach back in July, told Notts TV on Wednesday (September 4).
“We’re in it to win it.”
The new team will train at the University of Nottingham and play at the Motorpoint Arena in 2025, and the Australian-born ex-player says they hope to attract 5,000 fans to each game.
“We are so blessed to be playing every single one of our home games at the Motorpoint arena.”
“For the girls to be able to call that their home, it’s really exciting.”
The arena, which has a capacity of 10,500, is also home to the Nottingham Panthers and hosts a variety of other popular sporting events like the annual Varsity Ice Hockey.
“We’ve got a job to do to make sure we get our fan base to our home games.” Chelsea said, when asked speaking about the team’s new ground.
“We want to get out into the community and release our brand of netball, and make sure people are not just involved in the football side of Forest but the netball side too.”
The Netball Super league will start its 20th season in February next year.
Netball, the most played team sport by women in the UK, is an addition to Forest’s roster of professional sports teams.
The club says championing grassroots sport is a priority and the team is passionate about encouraging young women and men to get involved at the lower levels.
The team gives a platform to young talent, with Freya Henshall and Jayda Pechová (both 20 years old) featuring in the squad.
“Grassroots [and the pathway] is where you get to pull from in the future in Netball – we need to nail that, because that is what is important for the area,” Chelsea adds.
“The future of Nottingham Forest is really exciting [in the NLS space]. In ten year’s time I want to say that every Nottingham Forest athlete has come through the pathway.”
“I hope Nottingham, as a region, gets behind Forest, and parents sign their children up to give it a go.”
The NLS is back in 2025 in what has been donned a ‘new era’ for the competition.
There will be significant changes in place: larger, better venues, the ten-team format reduced to eight, and improved live mainstream TV coverage.
All players were out of contract after last season, so next season’s teams have been shaken up and built from scratch.
Average player salaries are set to be increased by 60 per cent, and the squad lists have been reduced from 15 players down to ten.
There is also the introduction of the talent pathway, which promises an influx of exciting young talent.
You can watch Forest Netball in the Netball Super League live on both Sky Sports and BBC sports from February 17, 2024.
