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FCN Euro Network Webinar: Joanna Coates & Tracey Neville

Thursday 24th March 2022 at 18:00 GMT | 19:00 CET

Join us for an evening with one of the most successful CEO / Head Coach duo’s in British sport as Joanna Coates (former CEO of England Netball and UK Athletics) and Tracey Neville (former Head Coach of England Netball) are the special guests for the next FCN | European Sports Leadership & Coaching Network webinar!

Throughout the evening we will be asking Joanna and Tracey their experience of working together as CEO and Head Coach and what that moment was like when England beat Australia on their home turf to take away Commonwealth Gold medal in 2018.

As part of our audience, you will get the chance to directly ask Joanna and Tracey questions about netball, leadership, coaching and everything in between. Whether you are a netball coach or not, there will be a wealth of knowledge and experience shared for you to take away and apply to your own careers.


Joanna Coates is one of the most successful leaders in British sport having worked at the very top of three of the countries biggest sports; Football, Netball, and Athletics. 

Joanna joined England Netball as the Commercial Director in 2010, and nearly 5 years later took on the position of CEO.  Throughout this time she was responsible for the strategic plan of the sport across the country and saw a record growth in the company’s participation programmes, sponsorship deals and ticket revenue.

Joanna was part of the team that was pivotal in the Vitality Roses’ historic win at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and in securing the rights to host the Vitality Netball World Cup 2019 in Liverpool. Under her guidance netball has proudly become the fastest growing female team sport in the country.

In March 2020, Joanna took up one of the most difficult jobs in sport as CEO of UK Athletics, implementing monumental changes in the way the sport is safeguarded and governed.  Joanna created the sports first framework agreement binding together all the Home Country Federations alongside UKA, as well as creating a historic Operational Plan which put the athletes at the heart of the sport.  ‘Age of the Athlete’ is focussed on collaboration and cultural change and it will continue to drive a sustainable and aspirational future for all athletes across the sport through to 2032.

During her time at UKA, Joanna also successfully implemented a Zero Tolerance Policy for abusive coaching and Lifetime bans for coaches found guilty of sexual and physical abuse.  

Joanna is now a consultant to various sporting organisations in the UK and continues to create change for women and girls. 

Tracey Neville is one of the best known and successful coaches in England, having led the England Roses to Commonwealth Gold in 2018 and Bronze at the Netball World Cups in 2015 and 2019. In 2016 she was awarded an MBE for services to Netball.

As a player, Tracey competed for England 81 1992-2008. Her best achievement undoubtedly being winning England’s first netball medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.

Tracey stepped down from Head Coach duty in the July of 2019, after 4 years in charge and in March 2020 gave birth to baby Nev and is now the the director of netball job at Superleague club, Manchester Thunder.


The FCN | European Sports Leadership & Coaching Network aims to provide an interactive and supportive platform for women in sports leadership and coaching to connect, share and develop. 

The project will encourage discussion on a variety of topics including; how to navigate through a male dominated arena, negotiating salaries and insights into the workings of the high performance sports industry.

Each webinar will begin with an introduction to our special guests along with an insight into their current role and the challenges they face. The rest of the webinar will involve questions from attendees and open discussions around leadership and coaching.

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