Tracey Neville

Biography

Tracey Neville was the Head Coach of the England national netball team. She led the team through their successful 2018 Commonwealth Games run, which saw England win their first gold medal, beating the favourites Australia on their home turf.

Success in the Games was especially pertinent for Tracey as she was a player with the team that won England’s first-ever netball medal. She played for the national team for over 15 years, accumulating 81 caps to her name. An injury forced her to retire, after which she moved into coaching and undertook a mission to raise the sport’s profile nationally. She began coaching at club level with Team Northumbria, before becoming the director at Superleague club Manchester Thunder. After just four years as a coach she was appointed interim England manager before being given the job full-time shortly after.

Tracey has revolutionised netball in England, instilling a professional, open and accountable team culture. She has also changed things off the court, raising the sport’s profile, overhauling its structure, bringing in sponsorship deals, and making it one of the most popular participation sports in the country. All of this has helped her team start to overturn netball’s historical dominance by New Zealand and Australia, as witnessed in the Roses’ last-minute victory in that dramatic Commonwealth final.