U21 Squad – Netball World Youth Cup 2025 

Following the announcement of the U21 long squad in July, U21 Head Coach Sarah Lewis has selected the squad that will represent Wales in the U21 squad at the Netball World Youth Cup in September. 

“I’m incredibly proud to announce our final squad for the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar this September. This squad brings together U17, U19, and U21 athletes — some with invaluable international experience, and others stepping onto this stage for the very first time. The talent, work ethic, and resilience in this group is exceptional, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve together. We know we’ve been drawn into a challenging pool, but we welcome that test. It’s an exciting time for Wales Netball, and we’re ready to embrace the opportunity and make our mark. This squad is fearless, talented, and ready to make Wales proud.”

The event will take place in Gibraltar from 19^th – 28^th September, where Wales will face 15 countries across four pools in Stage one. To learn more about our Wales U21 World Cup history, click here – Wales – NWYC 2025 Gibraltar 

Head Coach Sarah Lewis will be joined by Assistant Coach Jen Barrett, and Team Manager Cerys Rees as they head to Gibraltar, supported by Physiotherapist, Angharad Llion. 

Our U21 Co-Captains named for the competition are Thea Rhodes and Ellie Blackwell! Alongside the Co-Captains, Sarie Watkins makes up part of the U21 leadership group who will lead the following squad into the Netball World Youth Cup: 

Defenders	Mid-Court	Shooters
Izzy Affley (GK/GD) Loughborough Lightning NPL	Ruby Ellis (WA/C) Manchester Thunder NPL	Daniella Carr (GS/GA) Team Bath NPL
Ellie Blackwell (GD/GK) – co-captain Cardiff Dragons NPL	Eluned Owen (C/WD) Loughborough Lightning NPL	Ffion Evans (GA/GS) Manchester Thunder NPL
Nia Bullen (GD/GK) Cardiff Dragons NPL	Thea Rhodes (WD/C) – co-captain Cardiff Dragons NPL	Mia Hall (GA/WA) Cardiff Dragons NPL
Lola Rogers (GD/GK) Nottingham Forest PDP	Lowri Windsor (WA/C) Cardiff Dragons NPL	Sarie Watkins (GS/GA) Birmingham Panthers NPL

The 3 non-travelling reserves are: 

• Lilia Davies (GD/GK) (Team Bath NPL)  

• Madison Sims (GA/WA) (Team Bath NPL) 

• Sophie Woosey (C/WD) (Leeds Rhinos NPL) 

The U21s first game is at 5pm on 20^th September, taking on Tonga to kick off the tournament. Here is the competition schedule and below are Wales’ scheduled games in the round robin pool play: 

Saturday 20^th at 5pm – Tonga 

Sunday 21^st at 10am – Sri Lanka  

Monday 22^nd at 7pm – England 

Tuesday 23^rd at 12pm – Jamaica 

Ou U21’s are currently fundraising and looking for as many supporters and fans as possible to help them on their journey to the Netball World Youth Cup! To offer your support, please visit walesnetball-donations.sport80.com 

Wishing the squad the best of luck as they head into training!