12 players have been selected to represent England in next month’s Europe Netball U21 Championship in Sheffield.
Taking place from 6-8 October at the English Institute of Sport, England will take on Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the Europe Netball crown.
The team features bright prospects from the Future Roses Programme and the England Netball Player Pathway Programmes. Team Bath’s Phoebe Maslen, who was a reserve for the 2021 tournament, will captain the side and Jade Popoola, who has recently been signed by Loughborough Lightning for the 2024 Netball Super League (NSL) season, will serve as vice-captain.
Darcie Everitt, Harriet Jones and Anya Williams have all received NSL contracts for next season and Freya Henshall has been listed as a Training Partner for Loughborough Lightning.
The team will be led by former Rose and Interim Roses Academy Head Coach Leah Setsoafia and she will be assisted by Manchester Thunder Pathway Lead Lauren Palmer.
| Name | Franchise | Position |
| Darcie Everitt | London Pulse | GK, GD |
| Daisy Harrison | Team Bath | GD, GK |
| Lydia Harrison | Loughborough Lightning | WA, C |
| Freya Henshall | Loughborough Lightning | GA, GS |
| Harriet Jones | Leeds Rhinos | GA, GS, WA |
| Isabelle Keye | Central Warriors | C, WD |
| Sophie Kelly | Team Bath | GA, WA |
| Marlene Lange | Loughborough Lightning | GD, GK |
| Phoebe Maslen (C) | Team Bath | C, WD |
| Jade Popoola (VC) | Loughborough Lightning | GD, WD, GK |
| Alanna Pullen | Team Bath | WA, C, GA |
| Anya Williams | Manchester Thunder | GA, GS |
Reserves: Tori Akinrinlola (Central Warriors), Tami Fapohunda (London Pulse), Isabelle Howse (Saracens Mavericks Ruby Parker (Manchester Thunder) and Isabella Phillips (London Pulse)
Leah Setsoafia commented: “We’ve selected a really exciting group with new players that have had an outstanding season in the Netball Performance League leading them to the opportunity to be exposed to international competition.
“They will line up alongside some of our youngsters who have performed at the Commonwealth Youth Games and Europe Netball U17 competition last season to challenge them individually and in combinations with experienced U21 athletes currently in the Future Roses Programme and NSL environments.
“The competition will be a great chance for the athletes to learn and test themselves whilst we gain insight into them and what they offer on an international stage. It is an important competition to expose, develop and grow knowledge around the cohort of U21 athletes in the important years ahead of the Netball World Youth Cup in 2025. It will be a privilege to coach such a dynamic and impressive playing group.”
All games will be available to watch on the Europe Netball YouTube channel. Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Republic of Ireland and Switzerland will compete in a coinciding Challenge Event.
The full competition schedule is as follows:
Friday 6 October
- Isle of Man vs. Switzerland (13:00)
- England vs. Northern Ireland (15:00)
- Republic of Ireland vs. Gibraltar (17:00)
- Wales vs. Scotland (19:00)
Saturday 7 October
- Switzerland vs. Republic of Ireland (11:00)
- Northern Ireland vs. Scotland (13:00)
- Gibraltar vs. Isle of Man (15:00)
- Wales vs. England (17:00)
Sunday 8 October
- Gibraltar vs. Switzerland (9:00)
- Northern Ireland vs. Wales (11:00)
- Isle of Man vs. Republic of Ireland (13:00)
- England vs. Scotland (15:00)
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