Tracey Neville has stated she does not believe herself to be the appropriate candidate for the England Netball head coach position at the present time, while Tamsin Greenway has disclosed that no one from the governing body made contact with her about the vacancy.
Anna Stembridge will assume the head coach duties temporarily until after the Commonwealth Games this summer, following Jess Thirlby's departure from the role due to personal and family circumstances.
Once the Commonwealth Games conclude, attention will shift toward the Netball World Cup in Sydney. According to the official tournament website, the competition is scheduled for August 25 to September 5, 2027, where England will compete under potentially new leadership.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Off The Court Podcast, Neville, who recently became managing director of Stockport County Women football team, addressed the speculation surrounding her candidacy.
Am I the obvious choice? Of course, I'm the obvious choice. But am I the right choice? Absolutely not.
Neville explained that she had already discussed her career direction with England Netball leadership before taking on her current role at Stockport County.
Before I even got the Stockport County Women's job, I've had some great conversations with Sue Campbell [England Netball chair] and Fran Connolly [England Netball CEO]. And Sue Campbell is very clear about where I am in my career, what my intentions were, and from my perspective now, the challenge I have in my particular role is exactly where I want to be. I absolutely love working at Stockport County so she would 100 per cent have known that [returning to England Netball] would not have been the next step.
Neville had previously earned widespread support for a return to the position, having been the sole coach to guide England to Commonwealth gold before stepping away in 2019 to focus on starting a family.
Greenway, who manages London Mavericks in the Netball Super League and would have been another candidate many observers considered, revealed she was not contacted about the opportunity at all.
No, I wasn't asked. I think maybe my phone's dead or something, there's no reception in London, that's why.
Greenway went further, suggesting that no current Super League coaches were consulted during the process.
I don't think there was any phone calls put to any of the current England coaches in the Super League at the moment - I don't believe there was anyway. Do I think that should have happened? I don't know. I don't know what the protocol was. I don't think anyone saw this coming, I think it's all been a very quick turnaround to whatever's happened.
On Friday, it was confirmed that Greenway had signed a long-term contract with London Mavericks, where she will continue as head coach of the Super League side while also contributing to the development of the club's performance environment and player pathways.
England's World Cup Prospects
England is among the six nations already confirmed for the 2027 World Cup in Sydney. According to the Australian Department of Infrastructure, the other qualified teams are Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Uganda.
The tournament branding was unveiled on October 13, 2026, marking two years until the final, signalling the countdown to one of netball's premier competitions.
England's recent performance at the World Cup level has been competitive. The team reached its first Netball World Cup final in 2023, though they fell short against Australia with a 61–45 defeat. The 2027 tournament represents an opportunity for the nation to build on that experience and challenge for the title under new coaching direction.
