the United Kingdom. Netball Netball is the most popular women's sport, both in terms of participation and public interest in New Zealand. As in many netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport, with men's netball largely ancillary to women's competition. The sport maintains a high profile in New Zealand, due in large part to its national team, the Silver Ferns, which with Australia, has remained at the forefront of world netball for several decades. In 2008, netball in New Zealand became a semi-professional sport with the introduction of the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The sport is administered by Netball New Zealand, which registered 125,500 players in 2006. Rugby league Unlike Australia, where rugby league is the dominant rugby code, rugby union is the more popular code in New Zealand. The New Zealand domestic league is semi-professional and enjoyed by many great sports fan. However, the Australian National Rugby League (NRL), in which New Zealand Warriors play, is hugely popular overtaking rugby. . The New Zealand national side has competed in the Rugby League World Cup since 1954. They were the previous World Champions, winning the World Cup for the first time on 22 November 2008 at Lang Park, Brisbane. The team also reached the 2013 Rugby League World Cup (hosted by England and Wales) final on Saturday 30 October 2013. They lost to Australia in the final, 34–2. The team's most recent title came in the 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament by beating Australia, which brings their Rugby League Four Nations championships total to two. Association football Football has always been a significant sport in New Zealand, and was introduced by the first English settlers. It is considered the regional sport of Greater Wellington, which in turn is the only region in New Zealand not to have rugby as the most popular sport. This is exemplified by Wellington having New Zealand's only major professional side, the Wellington Phoenix, which plays in the Australian A-League. Football's greater regional popularity has been due to extensive support among the city's half a million people, especially since inner city clubs were formed immigration from Europe and the Middle East in the postwar period. These clubs were often ethnically based, including Wellington Olympic AFC (Greek), Wellington United (Dutch and Hungarian), and Island Bay United (Italian). The Miramar Rangers have often been considered Wellington's local powerhouse. Several Wellington Phoenix players have gone on to