We will never use being new as an excuse. Our aim is to challenge at the top end of the table and with a coaching team led by two-time NSL coach of the year Jo Trip as Head Coach and legendary Jamaican coach Connie Francis as Director of Netball our players could not be in better hands. Jo and Connie have not joined the Panthers to be also-rans.

Our squad is a little different, promoting Next Gen players to be part of the core playing group alongside our well-known internationals. With a mix of experience, youth and players whose potential has previously been overlooked we have a compelling blend. The squad isn’t built to challenge in five years, it is built to challenge immediately.

Birmingham has had to wait to get its own NSL side, we intend to make up for lost time.

We will use our reach to promote Birmingham as a modern, diverse and youthful city, one worthy of investment and attracting the best talent, including young netball players to our city’s universities where they can combine study and sporting excellence.

The Panthers will also forge strong partnerships with local businesses and use local suppliers where possible.

Few cities are as culturally diverse as Birmingham and so the challenge of being a side for everyone is both sizable and also core to our identity.

Everyone truly means everyone, wherever people live in the region, whatever their background, culture or how they identify. We are for all ages, all ethnicities and all abilities. We also hope to inspire and show that anyone can achieve their potential and are inspired by the impact of the Williams sisters in tennis and Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1, true trend setters who broke barriers.

However we are about so much more than the elite level. Sport is also a unifying force for good and one that can break down barriers. Our tailored events will be designed to bring communities together, promote healthy living and just be good old-fashioned fun. We want to put a smile on as many faces as possible.

On the court, we are a team of world class women competing in top-level sport but our ambition for women goes far beyond the sporting stage.

Key positions within the Panthers are held by women, whether this is in coaching from youth teams through to the NSL squad or senior management positions on the board. Our culture will celebrate the success of women and show what is possible, whether in reaching your potential within sport or using your skills to lead and inspire. 

We believe it all starts from culture and our culture is to celebrate success, seek out potential and nurture talent. We will make the athletes the superstars in our franchise, but we will give all women and girls a chance to shine.

We are impatient because we can see a bright future. In time, we expect to see the trophy cabinet fill, we expect to see players come through the pathways into the first team and we expect to see girls choose to study in Birmingham because they are drawn by the Panthers.

We expect to see thousands of smiling faces at events we hold and to read letters and social media posts that make us proud of the impact we have had. We expect to see small but subtle changes to Birmingham and the communities of our region and be able to think “we helped to do that”.

We want to, in some small way, make your life better – whether that is the pleasure of watching top class sport live, the opportunity we bring to you or a loved one, or the togetherness we bring to your community.