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On the club, national and international level, men's netball teams exist, but attract less attention than women's netball. Mixed teams are not uncommon in Australia and are very popular. Men's national teams do exist for countries including Canada, England, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the UAE emirate of Dubai. In 1997, in England male participation comprised 0.7% of the total netball playing population within schools. Unlike women's netball at elite and national levels, men's and mixed gendered teams in countries like Fiji, Australia and New Zealand are largely self-funded. When administrators attend conferences for men's and mixed gendered netball, they also have to pay most of their own costs.
History
Netball started to become popular for male players in Australia during the 1980s as men started to watch the sport that their wives and girlfriends were participating in. In Australia, the sport began to be played with the appearance of mixed gendered social teams. In 1985, the first Australian men's championship was held. The levels contested included: Open, Open Reserves, 21 and Under, 19 and Under, 17 and Under and Masters. The South Australian Mens Netball Association was founded in 1998. In 2000, the national organisation basically collapsed because of a lack of interest. In 2001, the South Australians tried to recreate the national organisation under their own state organisation, calling it the Australian International Mens and Mixed Netball Association. The new organisation held its first Australian Championships in 2002 for men's and mixed teams. In 2003, New Zealand entered a national team in the Open Mens Division and won. In 2004, New Zealand and Fiji sent teams to compete in the Australian Mixed and Men's National Championships. On 6 August 2004, the men's national organisations for Fiji, Cook Islands, New Zealand and Australia attended a meeting where they agreed to form the International Men's and Mixed Netball Association. The following day, the organisation's first official meeting was held. The group decided that the International Men's and Mixed Challenge in August 2006 would be the first event they would organise, and that the event would be held in Fiji. The 2009 International Challenge Men’s and Mixed Netball Tournament was held in the Cook Islands. Currently, the International Federation of Netball Associations only recognises women's netball. The 2011 International Challenge Men’s and Mixed Netball Tournament was run by the Western Australian Men's and Mixed Netball Association (WAMMNA). It is the major international competition for men's and mixed gendered national netball teams. In the 2011 competition held in April, men's national teams from Samoa, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands are a few that will compete.