High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Netball is an Olympic recognised sport, a status attained in 1995 after a twenty year period of lobbying. It has never been played at the Summer Olympics, but recognition means that it could be included at some point in the future. Its exclusion was seen by the netball community as a hindrance to the global growth of the game, depriving it of media attention and funding. When the sport gained recognition, it opened up sources of funds that the global netball community had not been able to access before, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), national Olympic committees and sports organisations, and state and federal governments.