Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby has selected a squad of 15 who will represent England in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup in February 2025. A further 10 athletes will form an England A squad for a series of behind closed doors matches in January.
The Vitality Netball Nations Cup will be held across two weekends on 1 and 2 February at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, and 8 and 9 February at the Copper Box Arena in London. The tournament will see the Vitality Roses take on world ranked number five, South Africa, number six Uganda and number seven Malawi, completing an international window which has seen England face all six of the seven top netball nations ranked around themselves.
12 of the squad that played in the Vitality Netball Horizon Series against Jamaica in November have been named in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup squad to face Malawi, South Africa and Uganda, along with Zara Everitt, Paige Reed and Alicia Scholes who make their return to the Vitality Roses squad after competing at the FAST5 Netball World Series earlier this year.
| Name | Club | Position |
| Halimat Adio | London Pulse | GK |
| Imogen Allison | Queensland Firebirds (Australia) | WD, C |
| Amy Carter | Manchester Thunder | C, WD |
| Beth Cobden | Loughborough Lightning | WD |
| Zara Everitt | London Pulse | WD, GD |
| Funmi Fadoju | London Pulse | GD, WD, GK |
| Berri Neil | Loughborough Lightning | GA, GS |
| Lois Pearson | Manchester Thunder | GA, WA |
| Razia Quashie | London Mavericks | GK |
| Ellie Rattu | London Mavericks | WD, C |
| Paige Reed | Manchester Thunder | GS, GA |
| Alicia Scholes | London Pulse | WA, C |
| Jess Shaw | Birmingham Panthers | WA, C |
| Liv Tchine | London Pulse | GS |
| Francesca Williams | West Coast Fever (Australia) | GD, GK |
Eleanor Cardwell (due to return from injury), Natalie Metcalf (due to pregnancy) and Helen Housby (due to club commitments) were unavailable for selection.
Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “We’re looking forward to kickstarting 2025 with the first Vitality Netball Nations Cup to feature the top three African nations in South Africa, Uganda and Malawi. All three teams continue to rise up in world netball and have been actively playing more competition of late. South Africa showed that they have real talent coming through their system when we last played them in December 2023, with a number of impressive debutants taking to court. They too will come into this competition hot off playing a series against Jamaica and will no doubt pose a fantastic challenge for us.
“Uganda and Malawi have posed real threats to top teams over the last few years, and we welcome the opportunity to play against their respective styles and challenge ourselves against their ability to keep possession, prolific shooting talent and ball hungry defenders. With these three nations ranked fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, this rivalry will add to what promises to be a spectacle for fans and will see us have the opportunity to match up against all nations ranked in the World Netball top seven in the last five months.
“Our squad sees some new inclusions, having recently seen a number of athletes compete not only against Jamaica but in the FAST5 Netball World Series and in England A fixtures, and we welcome Zara Everitt, Paige Reed, and Alicia Scholes into the 15-strong squad.
“I could not be prouder of this team’s achievements in recent months, winning the Taini Jamison Series against New Zealand and picking up important match wins against both Australia and Jamaica all with a new, young and exciting squad who are keen to establish themselves and do things that no Vitality Roses team have done before.
“We continue to be restless in our pursuit to compete with the best in the world and see this as another brilliant opportunity to do just that.
“We hope to see our fans turn out in force to not only continue to support us, but also to enjoy innovative events such as these on home soil.”
Meanwhile, a 10-strong squad has been selected who will play a series of fixtures as England A between 28-31 January. Featuring a mixture of Vitality Roses and Future Roses, this squad will compete against Malawi, South Africa and Uganda, providing vital experience. In order to respect the touring teams’ confidentiality, it is standard protocol for these games to be played behind closed doors.
England A squad:
| Name | Club | Position |
| Bella Baylis | Loughborough Lightning | WA, C |
| Jasmine Brown | Birmingham Panthers | GK, GD |
| Alice Harvey | Loughborough Lightning | GK |
| Hannah Joseph | Loughborough Lightning | WA |
| Taylor McKevitt | Manchester Thunder | WD, C |
| Vicki Oyesola | London Mavericks | GD, WD, GK |
| Hannah Passmore | London Pulse | GS |
| Tash Pavelin | Nottingham Forest Netball | GD, WD, GK |
| Emma Rayner | Manchester Thunder | WA, C |
| Emma Thacker | London Mavericks | GA, GS |
Some athletes from the Vitality Netball Nations Cup squad may also be involved in England A fixtures.
Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “These England A fixtures continue to be a great opportunity to expose our wider playing group to the match demands of international netball in order that we help grow the strength and depth of our player pool. We have seen great success among a number of our now better-known Vitality Roses players who have made the transition more successfully as a result of these opportunities so I’m excited to see this group tested, some for the first time against these nations, and hope to see them springboard into the Vitality Roses in the future.
“The squad features a combination of Vitality Roses and Future Roses including Jas Brown, for whom this will be her first taste of international netball at this level, having worked hard to return from injury in recent months. I look forward to seeing how they compete.”
Tickets for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup are available to purchase here.
Fans in the UK will be able to watch all the games live on Sky Sports and international viewers will be able to watch on NetballPass.*
Broadcast details for viewers in Malawi, South Africa and Uganda will be confirmed nearer to the time.
* Excluding viewers in the UK, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda.
Fixtures and timings for the Vitality Netball Nations Cup are as follows:
Vitality Netball Nations Cup Schedule (First Centre Pass UK Times)
Saturday 1 February – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
South Africa vs. Uganda – 15:00
England vs. Malawi – 17:00
Sunday 2 February – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Malawi vs. Uganda – 14:00
England vs. South Africa – 16:00
Saturday 8 February – Copper Box Arena, London
Malawi vs. South Africa – 15:00
England vs. Uganda – 17:00
Sunday 9 February – Copper Box Arena, London
Third-place play-off – 13:30
Final – 16:00
