Ama Agbeze (born 12 November 1982) is an England netball international. She was captain when England won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

she received an for her services to netball. She was also a member of the England team that won the bronze medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. As of 2020, Agbeze has played for at least sixteen different club teams in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Early life, family and education

Agbeze is originally from Nigeria, she was born by Nigerian parents in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. She has two older sisters and a younger brother. She was educated at

Kings Norton Girls' School Kings Norton Girls' School is an all-girls Academy (English school), academy school for pupils aged 11–19. Established in 1910, it is located in Selly Oak Road in Kings Norton within the formal district of Northfield, Birmingham, Northfield, ...

and

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

. Between 2004 and 2007 she attended

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

where she gained an MSc in Finance and Management. She also studied Law and Criminal Justice at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

and is a qualified lawyer. In 2016 she married Fred Donovan, a

New Zealander New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Playing career

Super Cup

During the Super Cup era, between 2001 and 2005, Agbeze played for

Team Bath TeamBath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, TeamBath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of t ...

, Birmingham Blaze, Northumbria Flames and London Hurricanes.

Netball Superleague

Between

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and 2007, while attending

, Agbeze played for Loughborough Lightning in the

Netball Superleague The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 ...

. She would return to Lightning for a second spell in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. She also played for

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

during the 2008–09 season. Agbeze spent the

2019 Netball Superleague season The 2019 Netball Superleague season was the fourteenth season of the Netball Superleague, the elite domestic netball competition in the United Kingdom. The season commenced on 5 January 2019. Manchester Thunder were the champions and defeated Was ...

London Pulse London Pulse is an English netball team based at the Copper Box Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London. Since 2019 their senior team has played in the Netball Superleague. History National Performance League London Pulse was ...

, then joined up with

Saracens Mavericks Saracens Mavericks is an English netball team based at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. They were Superleague champions in ...

for the 2019 British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship before joining

Severn Stars Severn Stars are an English netball team based at the University of Worcester and the University of Gloucestershire. The team is named after the River Severn, which runs through Worcester and Gloucester, the home cities of the two universities ...

for the 2020 season.

Australia and New Zealand

Agbeze played for three franchises in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

she was one of several

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

s to join the new league. Together with Karen Atkinson, she signed for

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, t ...

. She subsequently moved to the

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

for the 2009 season and then to

Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that r ...

for the 2010 season. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

she returned to West Coast Fever. During 2012 Agbeze served as a player-coach for West Coast Falcons, helping them win the

West Australian Netball League The West Australian Netball League, also referred to as the WA Netball League, is a state netball league featuring teams from Western Australia. It is organised by Netball Western Australia. On a national level, the league is effectively a third ...

. She was also awarded the Jill McIntosh Medal. In 2013 she played for Territory Storm in the Australian Netball League, then rejoined Central Pulse for the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2015 ANZ Championship seasons. She subsequently played for

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they pla ...

during the 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season and for

Northern Stars Northern Stars are a New Zealand netball team based in South Auckland. Since 2017 they have competed in the ANZ Premiership. The team was named after the Matariki star cluster which is also featured on the team's logo. They were grand finali ...

during the 2018 ANZ Premiership season. She played for

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

during the 2021 ANZ Premiership season.

England

Agbeze made her senior debut for

in 2001. She was a member of the England team that won the bronze medal at the

. In 2016 she was appointed England captain She subsequently captained England as they won the 2016

European Netball Championship The European Netball Championship (also known as the Netball Europe Championships) is an annual netball competition organised by Netball Europe. The Championships or "Open" section features the INF World Rankings, highest-ranked European nations, an ...

, the 2017 Fast5 Netball World Series and the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In October 2018, Agbeze made 100th senior appearance for England during a series against

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. In

she received an for her services to netball.

Honours

;

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

**''Winners'':

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: 1 *

Fast5 Netball World Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an international Fast5 netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The ...

**''Winners'':

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

: 1 *

**''Winners'': 2016: 1 *

Netball Quad Series The Netball Quad Series is an annual international netball series contested by the national teams of Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa. Background In December 2015, the governing bodies of netball in Australia, New Zealand, E ...

**''Runners up '': 2018 (Jan), 2018 (Sep): 2 ;

**''Winners'':

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

;

ANZ Premiership The ANZ Premiership is the top level netball league featuring teams from New Zealand. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from Australia, as the top level netball league in New Zealand. It is organised by Netball ...

**''Winners'':

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agbeze, Ama 1982 births Living people English netball players English netball coaches Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Netball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in netball AENA Super Cup players Netball Superleague players ANZ Championship players ANZ Premiership players Suncorp Super Netball players Australian Netball League players West Australian Netball League players New South Wales state netball league players Territory Storm players Surrey Storm players Yorkshire Jets players Loughborough Lightning netball players London Pulse players Mavericks netball players Team Northumbria netball players Team Bath netball players Severn Stars players Adelaide Thunderbirds players Central Pulse players Melbourne Vixens players Northern Stars players West Coast Fever players Northern Mystics players Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands English expatriate netball people in Australia English expatriate netball people in New Zealand Black British sportswomen English people of Ghanaian descent People educated at Monkton Combe School Alumni of Loughborough University Alumni of the University of Leicester Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English lawyers English women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers 21st-century English women