Jones joins Swansea City following netball blow
Nia Jones is a vastly experienced international in football and netball
- Published
Defender Nia Jones has signed for Swansea City Women on a semi-professional contract, having left Pontypridd United Women at the conclusion of last season.
The 32-year-old has represented Wales in both football and netball, captaining her nation at the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa.
But Jones said in August her career as a "high-performance netballer" had "come to an end" after she was not offered a contract by Cardiff Dragons for the upcoming Netball Super League (NSL) season.
“I’m buzzing to be here, it’s an opportunity I didn’t see coming my way but it was a no-brainer,” Jones, who has won 30 caps for Wales in football, told the Swansea City website.
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“I’m really excited by the prospect of what we have this season. The squad, the facilities here and the set-up have really impressed me, so I’m looking forward to challenging for that [Adran Premier] league title.
“I’ve kept myself fit over the summer thinking that I may be going into another netball season for probably another three or four years, so it’s not like I had a long off-season and was sat around.
“The move has come at a really good time for me personally, but I’m not just doing this for my own personal agenda, I’ve fallen in love with the project here at Swansea.
"The league has progressed massively and now it’s a really exciting and competitive league to play in."
Jones is reunited with Jamie Sherwood, having previously worked with the new Swans manager at Cardiff City Ladies and Yeovil.
“I’ve been around the block a little bit, been with a lot of different players and coaches. I know what it takes to compete at the highest level week on week and hopefully I can lead by example in that sense," Jones added.
“Conversations with Jamie have been really exciting, we’ve stayed in touch for years and he’s always been really supportive of me in both sports.
“I always said I hadn’t hung my football boots up forever, so when word spread that I may be coming away from the netball court, I told him that I was full of energy and wanted to keep doing something. Him being here at Swansea City felt like a perfect fit.
“He was instrumental in helping me to return. I don’t think if anyone else had called me about the opportunity at that point that I would have been as open to it."
- Published5 September
