Liz Nicholl CBE, Chief Executive Officer of UK Sport, today (Wednesday 1 May) announced her intention to stand for the Presidency of the International Netball Federation. Liz is being nominated for the position by England Netball.
In November 2018, Liz announced her plans to step down after nine years as CEO during the summer of 2019 following 20 years in a leadership role at UK Sport.
During Liz’s 20 years in post, she has played an integral role in the success of Team GB and ParalympicsGB as one of the architects of the system of World Class Programme support underpinned by a performance focused investment strategy that has transformed the prospects and achievements of British athletes on the world stage. Responsibilities not only for Performance, but also for Major Events, International Relations and Governance add to Liz’s candidacy.
A former international netball player, Liz held the position of CEO at England Netball for sixteen years before joining UK Sport and during that time was also the Championship Director for the 1995 World Cup.
Hon Molly Rhone OJ CD’s term as the current President of the International Netball Federation ends at the conclusion of this year’s Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 taking place in Liverpool. The INF Congress will elect their new President when it meets in Liverpool on 10 July 2019.
Liz Nicholl CBE, said “As I step down from my role with UK Sport this summer, I feel drawn back to the sport that helped me become who I am today. I feel a responsibility to ‘give back’ to give others the opportunity to develop as I did through netball and I know that I now have a broader experience and perspective to share.
“I have huge respect for the progress of INF under Molly Rhone’s leadership. If I were to be elected as INF President in July, I would want to build on Molly’s tremendous legacy to take the sport to its next level in terms of its leadership, impact and relevance to a wider audience while increasing its resources and partnerships to drive its growth and potential.
“During the next two months I will be contacting and listening to a cross section of representatives from the sport to better understand what they need from their President and their International Federation. The INF’s current strategy runs to 2020 and so there is a perfect opportunity to work together to build on the tremendous success of the sport to date.”
Joanna Adams, Chief Executive of England Netball, said: “We are delighted to be able to nominate Liz Nicholl to stand for the Presidency of the International Netball Federation. Liz is a great advocate for our wonderful sport; she is a former international player, was CEO of England Netball and over the last 20 years at UK Sport has developed a broad understanding of national and international sport.
“Molly has done outstanding work during her term as President of the INF, we will be sad to see her go but trust that Liz would do a fantastic job in continuing to grow the sport on an international stage.”
