Welshman Mark Evans Is New Netball Chairman

The Vitality Netball Superleague has turned to Welshman Mark Evans to become their new independent chairman.

The former Harlequins chief executive and Saracens director of rugby recently spent two years in Australia as CEO of the Melbourne Storm and has a wide range of sporting knowledge as coach, administrator and mentor.

The founder and director of Capacity Consulting, which specialises in providing advice and project delivery to the sports industry. In this role, his expertise particularly lies in the areas of crowd growth, match day revenues, stadium development, culture development and strategic review.

In June he was appointed as the project leader for the Stadium for Cornwall project leader. He will lead first-phase construction of the £10m ground, which is to be shared by rugby side Cornish Pirates and National League South football club Truro City, and due to open in the spring of 2018.

“We are delighted to have secured the services of someone of Mark’s calibre for this important role. He was the stand-out candidate in a strong field of applicants and I am sure he will bring real vision and energy to the role,” said Colin Povey Chairman of England Netball.

Now in its 13^th season, the Netball Superleague is the United Kingdom’s top level, elite netball competition featuring eight teams from England and Wales. The Celtic Dragons are the only Welsh club playing in the competition

“This is a wonderful time to be getting involved with netball and the VNSL. It is already a strong competition but I believe it can grow significantly in the next few years,” said former Cambridge University, Evans.

“Women’s sport in general and netball in particular are undergoing a transformation in this country and I look forward to both the opportunities and challenges this presents to the league.”