Pakistan netball: Meet the team who are backed by Super League club Birmingham Panthers and are inspiring change in the sport

In the space of a week, Farah Hasan went from playing netball to not being able to walk.

In June 2017, when Hasan was 21-years-old, she was diagnosed with Cerebellar Ataxia, a neurological condition where damage to the cerebellum - the brain region controlling movement - causes a loss of muscle coordination.

Hasan, now 30, thought it was the end of her sporting journey. She played for Team Northumbria in the Super League but was in a wheelchair for six months and had to drop out of university to focus on rehabilitation.

• England punished by New Zealand in series decider
• Latest netball news, reports, podcasts and videos
• England beat New Zealand to level netball series
• Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW

"I don't want to say I had given up on myself, but I had resigned myself to the fact that I've done those things," Hasan told Sky Sports.

"I played in the Super League and that was amazing and I thought I was entering a different phase of my life."

Then came the Pakistan Netball Academy trials a few years later. An opportunity she found out about whilst scrolling on Instagram, and she was successful.

"I've been part of this amazing group of girls who are so supportive, and they've reignited that spark and made me realise that I can still do these things," Hasan added.

Growing up in Newcastle with mixed Pakistani and British heritage, Hasan recalls finding it difficult to fit in until she discovered the Pakistan Netball Academy.

"Being mixed race definitely shaped who I am and how I see the world today," Hasan said.

"My white British friends could tell that there was something not quite the same about me, and I didn't really fit in with my Pakistani circle either. I found myself in this in-between place.

"I've embraced that uniqueness and made it into a core part of who I am.

"I've definitely tried to use it as a strength for me. Often, I was the only Asian or mixed heritage player on those teams and I still hear the same thing happening to other girls."

There is currently only one registered Asian player in the Netball Super League, Ellie Rattu, who is of mixed White and Indian heritage, who plays for the London Mavericks.

The 2021 diversity report showed that 1.5 per cent of England Netball members were Asian and 2.5 per cent were mixed.

According to the latest England and Wales census in 2021, about 9.3 per cent of the population belongs to an Asian ethnic group.

Speaking about these figures, Hasan said: "Netball is growing, and it still needs to grow, but not only in numbers, but in diversity as well.

"That's why initiatives like the Pakistan Netball Academy are so important."

Is clothing a barrier to netball?

Leya Shah was part of the Pakistan team that recently made history at the Asian Youth Girls Netball Championship by beating the Maldives in the Plate Division Cup final earlier this year.

The 21-year-old from Essex wears a hijab and said she always felt "like the odd one out".

"I always felt like I had so much more to prove because people automatically have stereotypes against hijabis," Shah told Sky Sports.

"I've been wearing a hijab for six years now, and I still feel the same. I know I have something extra to prove on the court just because of how I'm dressed.

"It isn't nice, and it's something I would like to believe is changing.

"When I was younger, I always thought about what people would think about me wearing a hijab or leggings.

"With the sport being predominantly white and living in Essex, there's not much diversity."

In November, it was announced that netball kits were getting a makeover.

London Mavericks are the first Netball Super League club to unveil a kit under the League's updated Inclusive Kit Policy for the 2026 season.

The League's updated Inclusive Kit Policy enables clubs to put choice, comfort, and confidence at the forefront of athlete performance.

The netball dress is often figure-hugging and quite short. The new kit has the options of shorts, skorts (skirts with shorts attached underneath), plus leggings and longer vests.

When Hasan took part in the Pakistan trials, she also struggled with what to wear.

"I took three different changes of outfit with me," she said.

"My appearance doesn't fit the typical image of a Pakistani woman, and I was a bit worried that I would be judged, not necessarily from the players, but from parents, who have certain mindsets about the way that I should look but it turned out to be the opposite; everyone was supportive.

"My name is also very Asian and when people read that, I think they have preconceptions about what I'm going to be like.

"I feel like I have something to prove on the court because my name and image don't necessarily fit the stereotype."

'I wish I saw someone who looked like me playing netball'

Haroona Zaman, the CEO of the Pakistan Netball Academy and vice-president of the Pakistan Netball Federation, is determined to change the narrative.

Her inclusion in sport was encouraged by her mum. "It was really empowering to have someone who always pushed the boundaries, " Zaman said.

Now, she is doing that for others.

The Pakistan Netball Academy, formerly known as the Cosmopolitan Roses, have a partnership with Birmingham Panthers in the Netball Super League.

The academy focuses on high-performance netball, providing elite coaching, top-level training facilities, and a competitive environment that attracts talented athletes from around the world.

"We formed this academy because there was a lack of representation and we wanted to make a safe space for women and girls to come into our academy," she added.

"The academy offers coaching, training facilities, and we have girls coming from all over the world to train with us.

"We need the support of these big clubs to be truly inclusive, to get media coverage, to back our programs and what we're doing.

"It's about getting these girls higher up the ranks where they can trial for big franchises."

Panthers CEO Will Collinson added: "We felt that if we were going to grow the franchise, we needed to break down the barriers in netball.

"Being inclusive is absolutely essential to us because we actually feel we've got to represent the community where we exist.

"We want to grow into communities and involve as many of the different ethnic groups as we can in the franchise; that's our mantra.

"Netball is getting more inclusive, but it isn't diverse at the moment. However, there is a big recognition that there needs to be a change, and all of us who work in sport believe in the power of sport to do good."

Women's sport is growing faster than ever, with record numbers of viewers tuning in.

Research conducted by the Women's Sport Trust found that across the Netball Super League, Women's Euros, Rugby World Cup, Barclays Women's Super League and The Hundred, total viewing hours for women's sport on free-to-air and pay TV from January to September 2025 reached a record 357 million hours, up from the previous high of 339 million during the same period in 2023.

But there remains a huge disparity in representation within these sports.

"Being a young athlete myself, if I had a role model, it would have helped so much," said Shah.

"For our team, having representation and visibility would mean so much, as well as investment into the Pakistan Netball Academy and more media coverage.

"Women's sport has come a long way over the years, and we're only just getting started."