ANZ Championship

The ANZ Championship is the most famous netball league in the world. The competition is held once a year between April and July. There are 69 matches played over 17 weeks. There are ten teams, five from Australia and five from New Zealand. ANZ Bank is the sponsor of the competition.
The ANZ Championship was started in 2008. It replaced the Commonwealth Bank Trophy in Australia and the National Bank Cup in New Zealand. Both of which were retired after 2007. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries. There was more media coverage and higher player salaries. The current champions are the Queensland Firebirds, who defeated the Northern Mystics in the grand final of the 2011 season.