The League is aimed at attracting new and regular sports fans and growing the profile of badminton and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

The NBL will consist of six franchised teams featuring the best British players and new, emerging talent, as well as some of the best European and international stars.

The six new franchises - Birmingham Lions, Team Derby, Loughborough Sport, University of Nottingham Badminton, Surrey Smashers and Milton Keynes - will each be made up of eight players purchased at an auction to be held on June 2.

Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Nathan Robertson has been named as an ambassador for the NBL and claims it will be a "game-changer" for the sport in Britain.

The competition will feature new rules aimed at making the game faster, more exciting and attacking for fans watching both in the arenas and on television by using an abbreviated scoring system and including a tie-break set.

"Players are right behind the NBL," said Robertson, who retired from the professional game in 2012.

"It is a game-changer for our sport.

"The modifications to the rules mean games will be faster than ever.

"The new rules will enable games to get to critical points quicker making it so much more exciting for the fans and the players.

"There will be no interruption to games, meaning non-stop action.

"It's fantastic news for teams, players and fans.

"I just wish the NBL could have been around when I was playing."

Olympic silver medallist and former world champion Nathan Robertson says the NBL will be a game-changer for badminton in Britain ©Badminton England



The final details of the match format will be finalised by Badminton England in the coming weeks.

The league is due to begin on October 6, with monthly matches running through until April 2015.

The teams will play against each other once, in a mixture of home and away matches.

This will be followed by a one-day knockout competition featuring the top four teams in June 2015.

"I am incredibly excited to announce the launch of the first ever professional badminton league in the UK," said Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy.

"Badminton is booming in this country right now and the NBL gives fans a chance to get behind a team and support their favourite players.

"This amazing new project will present our sport in such an exciting way - the fastest racket sport just got even faster.

"I am delighted that we have the support of Sky Sports, a brand who has led the way in sport innovation for many years now.

"Key to the NBL is taking badminton to new audiences, and Sky is brilliant at doing that."

Among the likely British stars to take part in the new competition will be seven-time English national champion Rajiv Ouseph and husband-and-wife duo Chris and Gabby Adcock, who climbed to number five in the world rankings following their win at the Hong Kong Open last November.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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