Basketball: Player payments double for Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa

Tokomanawa Queens players celebrate winning the inaugural Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa title. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand’s women’s basketball league has announced a raft of changes, including doubling player wages and opening the opportunity for international teams to join the league.

When the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa started in 2022, players were recognised through pay parity with New Zealand’s men’s league. For the 2024 season, payments will significantly increase for players in the women’s league.

The league is also expanding to welcome teams from beyond New Zealand, with conversations underway with a number of international teams.

The Tauihi league will move its playing season to October through December, a time in the sporting calendar that will give women’s basketball the best possible exposure to fans.

Sky Sport will continue to broadcast every game live in New Zealand, and they will also be shared around the world by a variety of partners.

Last season, the Tauihi league attracted nine players with links to America’s WNBA, along with the Australian team captain Tess Madgen and a raft of Tall Ferns.

Former Tall Fern and New Zealand’s only WNBA player Megan Compain said the changes to Tauihi signified a transformative moment for girls’ and women’s basketball in New Zealand.

“A shift in season will make Tauihi even more attractive to WNBA players, and the prospect of international teams joining the league promises to make it one of the best in the world,” Compain said.

“The players receiving a significant pay boost will financially put the teams ahead of many international leagues and really puts Tauihi on the map in a game that is played right around the world.”

The league will release further details on the international teams in the near future.

Free agency, the period when players can choose to approach the league to sign a deal to play, will commence for the 2024 Tauihi season in the coming weeks.