The Co-operative, sponsors of the sport's Superleague in Britain, has recently carried out a survey in 2, 000 food stores across the country using a simple chip and pin’ question, which shows growing momentum for the bid.

 

Some 587,705 people registered their support for netball to be included in the Olympics - double the level of support shown when a similar in-store survey was carried out in the summer. 

 

Alongside the 31,500 people who have joined the Facebook group, "Bid to get netball in the 2012 Olympics’", this has taken the support for the campaign over the 600, 000 mark.

 

Blair said: “As patron of Refuge, the national domestic violence charity for women and children, which is the charity partner of England Netball, I am delighted to be supporting netball’s bid to become an Olympic sport.

 

“Our female athletes did so well in Beijing, yet there is still an imbalance in the number of medal opportunities for men and women.

 

"Netball is the most popular sport in the world for women, and including it in the Olympics would send out a strong message that there are as many chances for women as men to compete at the highest level in team sports.

 

“It would also raise the profile of the game, and provide role models to encourage more people to take up the sport as part of a healthy lifestyle.

 

"Although I myself was pretty hopeless at netball at school, it was great fun and a really good workout, so a perfect way to help both young and old stay fit and healthy.

 

"With over 3,000 clubs across the country and one million players a week in the UK, there is certainly a large pool of talent out there to find more Olympic champions.”

 

Netball is one of the most popular female team games in the world, but despite its popularity - and being a regular sport in the Commonwealth Games - it has never featured in the Olympics.

 

The bid, supported by England Netball, already has the backing of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown, double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes, former England captain Bryan Robson and rugby league stars Jon Wilkin and Robbie Paul.

 

Debbie Robinson, the director of food retail marketing at The Co-operative, said: “The Co-operative is fully behind netball’s Olympic bid and we’re delighted with the support we’ve received for the bid so far from both our customers and public figures such as Cherie Blair.

 

“We’re passionate that netball, one of the most popular team sports in the world for women, deserves its place on the greatest stage of all.”

 

The Olympic bid was started by England international and Team Bath goalkeeper Eboni Beckford-Chambers, whose Facebook group “Bid to get netball in the 2012 Olympics” now has over 31,500 members.

 

She said: "I started the Facebook group with the target of having 500,000 people support the campaign to have netball included in the Olympics.

 

"Since The Co-operative has backed the campaign we have smashed that target and are looking to carry on to get over one million."

 

Unfortunately, the earliest netball can be included in the Olympics is in 2020, when it could be up against cricket, which has also started a campaign to get the Twenty20 version of the sport included.

 

The programme for London 2012 was decided by the International Olympic Committee Session in Singapore in July 2005 when baseball and softball were controversially dropped but not replaced.

 

There are seven sports fighting it out to be included on the programme for 2016, when the Games will be held in either Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo.

 

The IOC will be able to choose from baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, squash and softball at its Session in Copenhagen in October 2009.

 

There are hopes that netball can be included as a demonstration in London but the IOC scrapped demonstration sports after the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.

 

Former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash has also backed netball's efforts to be included on the Olympic programme.

 

He said: “I think netball should definitely be part of the Olympic Games.

 

"Like cricket, it requires a great deal of strategy, teamwork and co-ordination, and I have a lot of admiration for those who play.

 

There aren’t enough team sports in the Olympics, and with netball being the most popular sport for women in the world it definitely deserves to be included in the programme."

 

To add support to the "Back the Bid" campaign, log on to www.netballolympicbid.com.