Sport Sister Podcast

Vicky Molyneux has played Rugby League for 25 years and is the Current Captain of Wigan Warriors women. She made her England debut in 2007 and was the first woman to be inducted into the Wigan Warriors Hall of Fame. Natascia Bernardi has been coaching girls football since 2017. She is the Head Coach of QPR U12 Girls and is in a coaching placement at QPR Women's First Team as part of the FA WNL Coa...

Suzy Wrack is a football writer for The Guardian, author of the book A Woman’s Game and the 2023 winner of the best Women’s Sport Journalist award. Denise Richmond is the Chair of Kent FA and the of Southern Counties East Football league.  She is also an FA Club Consultant and a Direct Marketing Director. Suzy and Denise join Natalie Doyle to discuss the progress that has been made in changing per...

Kelly Simmons is a world leader in football with over 30 years experience.  Kelly was formerly the Director of the Women’s Professional Game for the FA, where she led the transformation of the women’s professional game in England into one the world’s leading domestic systems.  She is now a consultant and a Non-Exectuvie Director of Women in Football.   Josie McNamara is the General Manager of Nort...

Donna Fraser is a 4x Olympian and former 400m sprinter for Great Britain, with a successful athletics career which spanned over 20 years and has a host of European, Commonwealth and World medals. She now works as an international speaker, strategist, and charity ambassador, dedicating much of her time to working in Business, Sport, and the charity sector to inspire and embed inclusive and diverse...

Lydia Shale is a final year Sports Science and Physiology student at the University of Leeds.  She is also a football coach for the university women’s teams, a local grassroots women’s team, and Leeds United Foundation. She has also previously spent two seasons on the FA National Youth Council.  Natalie Curtis is Head of Academy at Women’s Championship side, London City Lionesses.  She has also pr...

In the final episode of Season 2, Natalie Doyle looks back at the first 2 seasons of the Sport Sister Podcast and discusses her favourite clips that demonstrate the importance of people in providing sports opportunities for women and girls.   She looks at finding volunteers, the importance of female role models, and developing a female workforce throughout professional and community sport. Visit t...

Rachel Newborough is a Northern Ireland senior international and professional footballer currently playing for Coventry United in the Barclays Women's Championship, whilst also running her own marketing business, Prowess Marketing.  Zainab Alema is a rugby player for Richmond Women, mum of 3 and former neonatal nurse. Rachel and Zainab join Natalie Doyle to discuss how they juggle elite level spor...

Simon Wears is Head of Health and Wellbeing at Wycombe Wanderers Foundation, supporting the local community across areas of physical and mental health programmes. Atia Nazmin joined the Wycombe Wanderers Foundation team in 2020 having spent the previous six years volunteering in the community.  Gemma Ali is the Founder of Footy Fit, providing football based fitness sessions for women that may have...

Catherine Sluter is Director of Tennis at Queenswood School, the number 1 school in the UK for girls’ tennis.  Linda Fox is Chair and Secretary of Actonians LFC, a women and girls football club based in West London. Catherine and Linda join Natalie Doyle to discuss why sport is so important for girls, including the skills that are developed by girls taking part in sport, the impact of positive rol...

Jules Parke-Robinson served for over 20 years as a British Army Officer in the Royal Military Police, before moving into a corporate career in 2019. A former Welsh rugby international, Jules joined the board of British Wheelchair Basketball, 4 years ago, assuming the role of Chair in 2020. Emma O’Connor is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion specialist. She is currently working within the higher...

Bethan Woolley is National Women & Girls Participation Manager at the FAW, looking to develop all areas of the game to drive and increase participation ensuring equal and accessible opportunities and environments for all. Ella-Rose McCourt-Cox is the Girls’ Engagement and Project Manager at Bloomsbury Football and is changing the game, showing girls in London that their place is on the pitch.  Bet...

Nicky Affleck and Chris Roberts join Natalie Doyle to discuss using sport for positive change.  They cover the importance of sustainability, both from an environmental and financial perspective; how to develop effective partnerships; and provide lots of advice for clubs and other organisations wanting to use sport to create positive change in their communities. Nicky Affleck is an award-winning le...

Charlotte Richardson and Leigh Willis join Natalie Doyle to discuss how community sports clubs can raise their profile and why it's important to do so.  They cover some quick wins that clubs can implement; the importance of having the right people leading this for your club; and share some invaluable advice on how clubs can raise their profile. Charlotte Richardson is an award-winning marketing an...

Yvonne Harrison (Women in Football) and Sarah Waite (Vinters FC) join Natalie Doyle to discuss women in leadership in sport.  They cover the challenges they have faced in being women in leadership; the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive women; male allies and much more in this episode packed with tips and advice. Yvonne Harrison is the Chair of Women in Football.  She is actively i...

Kat Clifton is a former West Ham United player and PE teacher.  In 2016 she founded She Can Play to provide more opportunities for girls to play football, and has now created a pathway for girls across Essex and Hertfordshire. Leah Godfrey is Chairwoman of the Capital Girls League (CGL) and Head of Girls and Women at Sporting Duet FC. Leah has over 25 years of experience in business transformation...

Darren Lawrence has worked in sports development for over 20 years, having held positions at Sport England and The FA. He now runs his own consultancy and helps clients including Governing Bodies, Active Partnerships, sports clubs, charities and local authorities in a number of areas including research, strategy and people development and monitoring and evaluation. Mike Hanaway is a coach and Club...

Cath Bishop is a triple Olympian, former diplomat, leadership coach and author of ‘The Long Win’, listed in the Financial Times' Top 10 Business Books of 2020.  Cath competed in rowing at 3 Olympic Games, winning World Championships gold in 2003 and Olympic silver in Athens 2004. Sophie Bartup is the Founder and Chair of Barton Inclusive Football Club, a community club providing inclusive football...

Caroline McRoyall has worked in the sport and leisure industry for over 20 years and was previously the CEO of Surrey FA.  She is also a tutor for Sport England’s Club Matters workshops. Keith DiPalma has been the Chair of Tigers JFC in Essex for 19 years.  Tigers have 53 teams in total, 13 of which are female teams and have over 90 girls attending their Weetabix Wildcats sessions. Caroline and Ke...

Carol Bates is the founder of Crawley Old Girls.  She didn't start playing football until she was 48 and hasn't stopped since! She was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, in 2021, for Services to Football and Inclusion. Andrea Ellis set up Bromley Belles, a recreational football team for women aged over 30, in 2018. She is also a Weetabix Wildcats Community Champion a...

David Faulkner MBE has previously worked as Head of Performance (Women's Professional Game and Para) for The FA, and Performance Director of England and Great Britain Hockey.  Keith Hardy is the Chair of Wyrley Juniors FC, the largest football club in the Midlands.  David and Keith join Natalie Doyle to discuss how they create positive cultures and what they have learned about leadership through t...

Rachel Pavlou has worked at The FA in women's football for 23 years.  Tina Hamilton is the Chair of Formby Community Football Club.  In this episode they discuss the importance of positive role models in increasing female participation in football. Rachel and Tina join Natalie Doyle to discuss role models throughout their lives, and how they try to utilise positive role models to engage more women...