Massaro and Matthew named as Team England Athlete Ambassadors for Gold Coast 2018

Laura Massaro and Nick Matthew have today been announced as key members of the Team England Athlete Ambassador programme, which will see Commonwealth Games England (CGE) work closely with 30 English athletes in the build-up to the Gold Coast Games.

Commonwealth Games England’s President Denise Lewis who is leading the programme and will work with Ambassadors from a range of Commonwealth sports said:

“We are delighted to have a great selection of some of England’s greatest, and most promising, athletes involved in the Team England Athlete Ambassador programme. We will work with them and their sports to raise the profile of Team England and create excitement for the nation ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

“Nick and Laura are fantastic athletes. Their experience will also be vital in helping Team England prepare for the Gold Coast Games in just over 500 days’ time.”

The Team England Athlete Ambassador programme was unveiled at Commonwealth Games England’s Annual General Meeting in London today. The Athlete Ambassadors will support CGE to raise the profile of Team England and its values, develop a strong Team England ethos amongst athletes, the organisation and the nation, and prepare Team England for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

World No.2, Laura Massaro commented: “I'm delighted to have been selected to support Team England as an Athlete Ambassador. The Commonwealth Games is one of the biggest sports events in the world and I am looking forward to working with Commonwealth Games England to support it on its journey to be the best prepared that it can be in 2018.”

Three-time World Champion Nick Matthew said: “Carrying the Flag for Team England in Glasgow 2014 was the biggest honour of my career so it felt a natural progression to jump at the opportunity to be a Team England Athlete Ambassador and help prepare the team for what I hope will be my 4th Games in Gold Coast.”

Commonwealth Games England also today revealed plans to create the best performance environment for Team England to deliver success for the nation at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

As part of its plans to send the best prepared team to the Gold Coast, CGE will hold a Team England preparation camp in Australia, create a dedicated performance centre inside the Commonwealth Games Village, offer a full programme of support services and send a team of around 600 athletes and staff, in what will be England’s largest ever sporting team to represent the nation abroad.

Team England at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will include around 400 athletes who will compete in 18 sports, including 38 para medal events in what will be the largest ever para-sport programme.

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