Tracey Neville, England
Netball
Sport is a family affair when it comes to the Nevilles. A trio of future England internationals were raised by parents who passed on a passion for their pastimes – but only one of them would lift silverware at international level. When brothers Gary and Phil were gaining all football’s major trophies at Manchester United, sister Tracey was earning more than 80 caps for the nation’s netball outfit. The now 42-year-old would then become the first Neville to move into management, taking over Team Northumbria Netball in 2011 with a burning desire to raise the profile of the sport. This mission reached its, current, zenith at the 2018 Commonwealth Games when she masterminded England’s first ever netball gold medal with an epic 52-51 final victory versus hosts Australia. A YouGov poll claimed that more than 130,000 Britons have been inspired to take up the sport since, while new sponsorship deals have been inked with Nike and Vitality. Netball is booming in the United Kingdom – and few have contributed more to this than her.
– Neville competed as a player for England at the 1998 (winning bronze) and 2002 Commonwealth Games.
– Appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to netball.
– More than 1.8 million people in the UK tuned in to see England defeat Australia in last year’s Commonwealth final.
Did you know…
Twins Tracey and Phil are in the unique position of both being coaches of teams that are attempting to win World Cups this year (the latter leads England’s football side).
“People often think the toughest thing for me is being compared to my brothers. It isn’t.” – Tracey Neville (Source: The Telegraph)
Twitter: @traceynev
Instagram: traceynev
