What Is Footwork in Netball?

Footwork is one of the first rules every new netball player has to unlearn their instincts for — it's the reason you can't just run with the ball.

The landing foot

Everything in the footwork rule depends on your landing foot:

• One-foot landing: the foot you first land on after catching the ball (or the foot you're standing on when you catch it).
• Two-foot landing: if you catch the ball standing on both feet, or land on both feet at the same time, your landing foot is the foot you don't move first.

One-foot landing (Rule 13.1)

After landing on one foot, you may:

• step with your other foot in any direction, lift the landing foot, and pass or shoot before the landing foot touches the ground again;
• pivot on the landing foot, stepping with the other foot in any direction as many times as you like — you may lift the landing foot, but must pass or shoot before re-grounding it;
• jump from the landing foot onto the other foot and jump again, passing or shooting before either foot is re-grounded;
• step with the other foot and jump, passing or shooting before either foot is re-grounded.

Two-foot landing (Rule 13.2)

After landing on both feet at once, you may:

• step with one foot in any direction, lift the other foot, and pass or shoot before it's re-grounded;
• step with one foot any number of times while pivoting on the other — the pivot foot may be lifted, but you must pass or shoot before re-grounding it;
• jump from both feet onto one foot, passing or shooting before the second foot is re-grounded;
• step with one foot then jump, passing or shooting before either foot is re-grounded.

In other words, a two-foot landing gives you the same options as a one-foot landing — whichever foot you move first, the other becomes your landing foot.

What you can never do (Rule 13.3)

While holding the ball, you may not:

• drag or slide the landing foot;
• hop on either foot;
• jump from both feet and land on both feet;
• fall to the ground and re-ground the landing foot (new in the 2024 rules).

A simple example

You catch the ball while running and your right foot lands first — that's your landing foot. You can pivot on it, stepping around with your left foot to face a new direction. You can even step forward with your left foot and lift your right heel and toe off the floor to reach for a pass — as long as the ball has gone before your right foot touches down again. What you can't do is put the right foot back down and keep going.

Legal vs illegal footwork

What the umpire is looking for

Umpires watch the landing foot from the moment of catching to the moment the ball is released. A footwork call is about that foot's contact with the floor — not about how far the player travelled.

Restart

A footwork infringement is penalised with a free pass to the other team, taken where the infringement happened.

Common misunderstandings

• "You can't lift the landing foot at all." You can — you just have to release the ball before it touches the ground again.
• "If you land on two feet you can't move either foot." You can move one foot; the other then becomes your landing foot.
• "I was off balance." Losing balance doesn't excuse re-grounding the landing foot — including falling to the ground and getting back up on it.
• Confusing footwork with held ball. Footwork is about foot movement; held ball is about holding the ball for more than three seconds. They're separate rules.

Player tips

• Practise catching and immediately knowing which foot is your landing foot — see how to land and how to pivot.
• Plan your pivot direction while the ball is still in the air, so you're not adjusting your feet after landing.

Umpire tips

• Position yourself with a clear sightline to the landing foot, not just the ball — the infringement happens at floor level.
• Remember a lifted landing foot isn't an infringement on its own; the question is whether it was re-grounded before the ball was released.

Related rules

Footwork works alongside held ball — both limit what a player can do once they have the ball — and applies to the Centre at every centre pass and to any player taking a free pass, penalty pass or throw-in.