The spirit of Tala: The rapid rise of Tonga's netball team
episodePreviously titled “The spirit of Tala: The rapid rise of Tala's netball team” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Tatala is a rare bird that comes out to give hope.
The tuka haybird was believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1948 in the New Zealand mountains. It's widely considered a symbol of resilience among Pacific Island culture. And that's where our story starts.
How did Tonga have no national netball team in 2014 and why did that matter?
Tonga, a small island located in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. It's up to 5,200 kilometres away from Melbourne, Australia, with a population that could almost entirely fit into the famous Melbourne cricket ground. It might be one of the smallest nations in the world. Geographically isolated, this Pacific island is home to one of the most remarkable rises in sport history.
Our country is known for the friendly islands, very warm-hearted people. We love our dance, we love our music, we love our culture. So I think that's one of the things that we take with us everywhere. We're always a loud team.
Tonga is a fiercely independent, culturally rich and deeply spiritual place. A philosophy that has propelled this netball team to the top. From the BBC World Service, welcome to the documentary. I'm Sophia Hartley with the story of the spirit of Tala, the rapid rise of Tonga's netball team.
There is no other way to explain it because when you watch them play in the early days, even now, there's a magic that happens with them and that can never be taught.
Renowned for its passion and success in rugby in recent years, it's actually Tonga's netball team that has captured the world's attention. But rewind to 2014 and Tonga didn't even have a professional netball team. They didn't even have a coach. Just a dream to compete with the best in the world.
I remember at the time, I think I said to the meeting that, please give me five years. We're going to make some dramatic changes for Tonga. And if it doesn't work within the five years, I would happily resign.
This was their chance to build a better future for girls and women in Tonga.
Tonga is small, but we are also mighty large.
We are strong, we are mighty and we will take on any challenge with two hands. Just like the Takahei birds fight for survival, this is a story of hope, community and resilience. A netball team from one of the smallest countries in the world competing with the best on the international stage. A netball team that still trains in a bank car park. Told by the people at the heart of the journey, this is the spirit of Tala, the rapid rise of Tonga's netball team.
My name is Salote Siswa. I'm the CEO of Tonga Netball and also the President of Oceania Netball Federation.
Salote Sassifa took on the role as CEO in 2014. Before that, her career had taken a very different path. Salote will be familiar to most Tongans as the nation's TV news anchor. So how does she go from reading the 10 o'clock news to managing elite performance sport?
if i could say i i got into netball kind of like by accident uh in terms of i was working with media and i was just taking some time out of media more like a leave and my friend who was working with netball at the time the former ceo she was migrating and kind of like uh asked me to would you like to um you know during your leave time do some time with netball And having this in mind, there was no thought at all that I would go past six months. It was just like, OK, it's a job while I'm on leave. And during those six months, netball grew on me.
But it wasn't long before Salote realised this job would be far more than a career break.
Thinking back of 2014, back then netball was kind of like a social game here in Tonga. On the ground here, there was more attraction to netball, but there was never any idea of going high performance or having a national team, which at the time there had been national teams before. But when we came on, there was no longer, I think more than a few years, no longer any national team. Come 2015, was our first international tour, and that was the Pacific Games of 2015, which was held in Papua New Guinea.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:22
2
How did Tonga have no national netball team in 2014 and why did that matter?
1:22–16:30
3
Why did Salote Sisifa promise to build a top-10 team within five years?
16:30–24:19
4
How did Salote transition from TV news anchor to CEO of Tonga Netball?
24:19–34:45