Netball’s facility problem is not a small operational issue. It is the visible consequence of a much older infrastructure story. Men’s sports were given time, land, legitimacy, and institutional support to become place-based. Women’s sports were often encouraged to participate, but not enabled to own, control, or build.

That distinction still shapes grassroots sport today. Football’s advantage is not only that more people play it. It is that the sport sits on generations of accumulated infrastructure. Netball’s disadvantage is not only that fewer people play it. It is that its growth has been forced through borrowed space.

In sport, belonging is not a noun, a badge, a policy statement or a feeling we can manufacture for people. It is a shared practice. It is built when players, coaches, parents, volunteers and leaders take responsibility for being present, making others visible and contributing to the culture they want to be part of.

We need to ask ourselves ‘are we calling something youth-led because it truly is, or because it sounds good or we wish it was?’

The challenge is to build cultures where adults are prepared to listen, respond and share power appropriately. Hart’s Ladder reminds us that participation is not measured by how visible children are, how often they are consulted, or how confidently adults describe their work as child-centred or youth focused.

If nothing changes after children speak, we should be honest with ourselves: we have not listened well enough yet.

What does it really mean to belong in sport?

The challenge for sport organisations, whether you're a national governing body, a community club, or somewhere in between is that belonging has never really been treated as a strategic priority. It lives in the gap between participation data, winning margins and sometimes a volunteer experience. Between retention targets and the reason a child cries on the way home from training.

That gap is where the real work is.

THE PARTS OF SPORT WE STILL MAKE HARDER FOR GIRLS

I'm sorry children; adults in sport can't stop shouting at you

Mummy, why do they keep women’s football a secret?