Vitality Netball World Cup is live on Sky Sports from July 12 to July 21
Friday 28 December 2018 23:51, UK
England Roses head coach Tracey Neville wants more "ruthless" fans to back her team for the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool.
The 2019 tournament - which will be shown live on Sky Sports - promises to be one of the biggest in the sport's history and will take place from July 12 to July 21, with the final taking place at the Echo Arena.
England's Commonwealth Games gold medal and their rise to second in the world rankings in 2018 has made the hosts serious contenders, while defending champions Australia are out to claim a remarkable 12th crown.
Did Roses learn from Uganda series?
2018 saw Sky Sports' viewing figures more than double for netball and Neville is keen to expand the nation's growing interest in women's sport.
"I always find netball fans are very, very ruthless," she told Sky Sports. "I'm hoping we've created that with our English fans.
"They can generate that same amount of support, that vibe, that eighth-player attitude to go out there and give us that extra stride that we need."
The Roses, now ranked fourth in the world, announced a 26-player squad for their upcoming Quad Series against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on Saturday - which will be played throughout January 2019 - ahead of the new domestic Superleague season.
Earlier this month, Neville's team ended their memorable 2018 ended on a high with a 66-37 victory at the Copper Box, completing a 3-0 series whitewash over Uganda.
"We've played at Wembley, at the Copper Box, where we've needed to win by one goal or gone into extra-time against one of these top countries and the crowd behind us is absolutely essential," Neville added.
"Going into the World Cup, it's about building supporters, building more ruthless fans and giving them every opportunity to come support us."
It is the first time the World Cup will be hosted in England since the 1995 edition in Birmingham and the third overall after the 1963 tournament in Eastbourne.
Sky Sports will also show every game live of the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup, July 12-21. A huge 2019 will feature another thrilling Vitality Superleague which is just a month away and starts with the Super 10 on Saturday, January 5, live on Sky Sports.
