Liz Nicholl: Welsh president of World Netball awarded damehood

Dame Liz Nicholl joined UK Sport as director of elite sport in 1999

The president of World Netball has received a damehood at Buckingham Palace.

Dame Liz Nicholl is a former international netballer and represented Wales at two world cups in the 1970s.

She was also the CEO of UK Sport between 2010 and 2019 - overseeing the British team's Olympic and Paralympic medal successes.

She said receiving the title from the Princess Royal on Wednesday was "incredible".

"Nobody ever thinks in their life that they're going to receive an honour such as this," she said.

Dame Liz, who was born in Barry, said netball has "come on leaps and bounds" since the early 1980s.

The sport was first included in the Commonwealth Games in 1998.

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Dame Liz was the first chief executive of England Netball in 1980 and was chief executive of UK Sport between 2010 to 2019 - overseeing the British team's Olympic and Paralympic wins.

She said the move to professionalise the netball league will provide a platform for future England players "to be able to develop their skills".

The former international netballer said England Netball is "on a journey" and England's historic run to the Netball World Cup final in South Africa over the summer will have "inspired more youngsters" to take up the sport.

"When I became the CEO of England Netball, there was only me - I was the first full-time member of staff and I had to learn how to be a leader. But I learned that in a very supportive netball community, who encouraged and advised me - and that's why I stayed there so long."

However, she added that it was a "tough challenge to actually gain inclusion" as there are international federations for other sports with more members.

"We're on a journey and it is an ultimate ambition, but we're going to do whatever's good for netball in the first instance."