Ali Donnelly is Executive Director of Digital, Marketing and Communications at Sport England.
She is a former Senior Civil Servant, who worked at Downing Street where she was the Prime Minister's Deputy Official Spokesperson and the Head of News.
Ali was previously Head of Communications at Premiership Rugby club Wasps and has also worked in media and public affairs roles at the BBC have started her career as a journalist at the Evening Echo newspaper in Ireland.
A passionate women's rugby fan and campaigner Ali also runs the award-winning website Scrumqueens and is Director of Women's Rugby at Teddington and a member of the RFU’s Rugby Growth Committee. Her new book is called: 'Scrum Queens - The History of Women's Rugby'.
Along with exploring Ali’s career pathway in sport and business, we review the current state of play for women’s rugby and the potential with 2025 World Cup on the horizon in England. What more needs to change for equality in women’s sport and to ensure young women don’t stop being active in their teenage age years?
Thanks to Sport England who support The Game Changers through the National Lottery.
Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award.
Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk/thegamechangers
Hosted by Sue Anstiss
Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media
A Fearless Women production
Jessica Ennis-Hill: On being the poster girl at a home Olympics
Orla Chennaoui: The power of being authentic as a woman reporting sport
Pippa Grange: Understanding the role of fear and how to combat it
Esme Morgan & Charlotte O'Neill: Leading the way in women's football
Rimla Akhtar, Wendy Taylor, Tess Howard & Holly Bradshaw explore the impact of women's sport clothing
Jackie Oatley: Changing career to follow your passion
Lauren Steadman: How para athletes change society's perceptions
Tanni Grey-Thompson: Calling out sports governing bodies for lack of diversity
Steph Houghton: Lessons learnt as a captain of club & country
Mo Hunt: The journey to professional rugby
Lisa O'Keefe: Uniting women’s sport across the world
Kristen Dusting: The cultural and community impact of roller derby
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys: Running Towards Inclusivity
Sue Redfern: Breaking boundaries for cricket umpires
Claire Taggart: The impact of Boccia – a totally inclusive sport
Jess Carter: The reality of life as a Lioness
Series 16 of The Game Changers
2023 Highlights
Kelly Smith: Why talking openly about mental health is so important
Casey Stoney: On embracing mistakes & the desire to keep learning
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