England Netball appoints Baroness Sue Campbell as new Chair of the Board

England Netball appoints Baroness Sue Campbell as new Chair of the Board

England Netball have welcomed Baroness Sue Campbell as its new Chair of the Board.

Baroness Campbell will succeed current Chair Bridget Blow CBE in January 2025.

After representing England in netball at Under 21 level, Baroness Campbell went on to become one of the most recognisable and respected names within British sport, and a trailblazer within women’s sport. She began her distinguished career within sport as a PE teacher at Loughborough University and went on to become the Chief Executive of the Youth Sport Trust in 1995 and Chair of UK Sport in 2003 where she oversaw an unprecedented era of Olympic and Paralympic success for Team GB. She has spent the last eight years as Director of Women’s Football at The FA where she played a pivotal role in the success of the Lionesses, the growth of a thriving grassroots game and the professionalisation of the WSL.

Discussing her appointment, Baroness Sue Campbell commented: “It’s an enormous privilege to join England Netball at such an exciting time. In many ways it feels like I’m coming home having played, umpired and coached netball for more than 25 years at school, college, club and national level. As well as providing me with some of the most memorable moments of my playing career, it gave me lifelong friendships and a female friendly supportive community so it’s wonderful for me to be back where it all started.

“For as long as I can still make a difference and have the capability to change lives through sport then I want to be involved, and there is no better sport than netball to genuinely impact the lives of women and girls. And whilst all women’s sports continue their ascendency, netball retains a unique place in our sporting landscape. I’m looking forward to working with the Board, the team at England Netball and everyone within the wider Netball Family to build on the progress that has been made so far and to help to grow this sport that I love. This is definitely a very exciting next chapter.”

Baroness Campbell joins England Netball at a time when the sport continues to thrive. Netball remains the most popular team sport for women in the country, with more than 850,000 players taking to court on a weekly basis and 3 million players participating every year. The national team the Vitality Roses have moved up to number two in the world rankings and the sport has embarked on a journey to professionalisation with the domestic league, the Netball Super League.

Speaking on the appointment, Jennifer Thomas, England Netball Senior Independent Board Director said: “Sue’s lifelong dedication to advancing opportunities in sport, her passion for growing women’s sport and commitment to creating positive change make her the ideal person to lead our Board as we enter an exciting new era. Her reputation is unrivalled, as are her achievements, and as a sport we are just so incredibly fortunate and excited to have enticed her back to netball where her sporting journey began, at this pivotal time as we accelerate our professionalisation and growth plans.”

England Netball and the Board wish to place on record its gratitude to outgoing Chair Bridget Blow for her exceptional contributions over the last nine years as Senior Independent Director and more recently as Chair, which have left the organisation well placed for future success.

IMG: Ben Lumley