 Representatives from England , Australia , New Zealand , South Africa , and the West Indies were part of a 1960 meeting in Sri Lanka that standardised the rules for the game . The game spread to other African countries in the 1970s . South Africa was prohibited from competing internationally from 1969 to 1994 due to apartheid . In the United States , Netball 's popularity also increased during the 1970s , particularly in the New York area , and the United States of America Netball Association was created in 1992 . The game also became popular in the Pacific Island nations of the Cook Islands , Fiji and Samoa during the 1970s . Netball Singapore was created in 1962 , and the Malaysian Netball Association was created in 1978 . 
