The Fiji Pearls (black kit) fell 54-47 to the Malawi Queens in their opening match on the Gold Coast. Photo: Netball Australia
Netball Fiji has been unable to confirm details of a proposed Pacific Series with New Zealand because they do not have a chief executive officer in place yet.
Chief executive Vivian Koster's contract has ended and she is on leave.
The position was advertised earlier this month.
RNZ National had reported there is ongoing discussions between Netball Fiji and Netball New Zealand about the series.
Netball New Zealand chief executive Jennie Wyllie was reported saying that the final details are yet to be confirmed with Netball Fiji, but the tentative plan is to have that in January or February 2025.
Netball Fiji has not responded to questions sent to them, but a staff in Suva say they are awaiting the confirmation of a new CEO.
An employee that RNZ Pacific spoke with said the issue can only be discussed by the CEO, with the position vacant at the moment.
The staff advised that the questions be sent to the administration manager, who is acting at the moment, but no response has been received yet.
Netball New Zealand says they are in discussions with Netball Fiji about holding a series in the island nation in January and they hope Australia will be involved too.
This is because the Silver Ferns are eyeing matches to replace the Nations Cup between England, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, which usually takes place in England every January.
That is not happening in 2025.
Netball New Zealand CEO Jennie Wyllie said getting international exposure was important for the Silver Ferns so they wanted to fill the January void.
"The final details are yet to be confirmed with Netball Fiji. And part of what's been really important for us too is to be able to have a Pacific series and to ensure that we get that visibility and opportunity to play against Pacific nations as well. I think it's really important to be able to demonstrate a presence over there," Wyllie said.
"We're in really advanced discussions around how do we pull something like that together for January and be able to use it as an opportunity to give some of our young up-and-coming talent some experience alongside the more seasoned players as we head into the next pinnacle event cycle."
Given Fiji are currently ranked 14th in the world, the series is not going to extend the Silver Ferns but Netball New Zealand would like to see the world champions there too.
"We would like to be able to have Australia involved, I think that's the discussion at this point but all of those details are to be confirmed. "The Series will return to Brisbane's Nissan Arena between February 17 - 22, 2025.
Fiji tied up with PacificAus Series
But there are confirmations now that Netball Fiji wlll be tied up with the 5th edition of Netball Australia's PacificAus Sports Netball Series to be held in February 2025.
The Fiji Pearls, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Pepes, Samoa Tifa Moana, and the reigning four time Series champions, the Tonga Tala, are all confirmed for that.
They will be joined by returning domestic invitee, the Australian First Nations Black Swans, who made their debut at the 2024 PacificAus Sports Netball Series, as well as a new team, the Scottish Thistles, who have only had seven matches against nations of the Pacific Islands since the 2015 Netball World Cup.
Netball Australia said the Series will return to Brisbane's Nissan Arena between February 17 - 22, 2025.
It said the series gives Pacific teams the opportunity to play top level internationals against each other and invited teams, to help in their development.
While the Tongan Tala have won all the past four events, one of the beneficiaries has been Papua New Guinea, with the PNG Pepes having risen 13 ranking positions in two years since 2021 - from 42nd in 2022 to now sitting at 29th.
PNG Pepes head coach Lua Rikis is enthusiastic about her team competing in the Series in February.
"Exposure to international tournaments in the last two years has helped the PNG Pepes rise in the world rankings and we're grateful to Netball PNG and Netball Australia for their high-performance programs," Rikis told Netball Australia.
"This will be my first international event as the Pepes Head Coach, so I am excited and nervous at the same time because this comes with a lot of expectations.
"We are clear as a team on what we want to achieve at this tournament. Our main aim for this Series is to maintain consistency and be competitive."
The Black Swans, or the Australian First Nations, return to the Series providing an opportunity for Pacific national teams to compete against some of the best up-and-coming talent in Australia.
The team is made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netballers but they do not get ranked in the event.
First Nations engagement manager Beryl Friday said they are looking forward to seeing the Black Swans highlight their skills for the second year in a row.
"It's a chance to introduce new players to a culturally safe high-performance environment, demonstrating those high-performance behaviours and build their capacity and skillset to re-enter their home pathway program with confidence," Friday said.
"The Series is a great opportunity for the squad to get out on court together and start building connections. It's an opportunity to highlight their individual strengths and playing diversity whilst demonstrating the natural skill and flair that First Nations athletes possess.
"Off court, it's a chance to grow and learn from each other as First Nations women and continue to build leadership skills that we can take back to our communities."
Netball Australia said the diversity of teams competing in the Series aims to improve netball's global standard, with the Netball World Cup in Sydney on the horizon, while highlighting the development of international relationships through sport.
The fixture for the 2025 PacificAus Sports Netball Series will be announced in 2025.
