Nia Jones | I've fallen in love with the project here at Swansea
Nia Jones has her sights set on silverware with Swansea City Women after the vastly-experienced dual international sealed her move to SA1.
Jones has become the Swans fifth summer signing, having retired from netball earlier this summer, signing semi-professional terms.
The defender made 30 appearances for Wales in football, before going on to represent her country in netball at two Commonwealth Games.
Jones brings WSL experience to the Swans, having played for Reading and Yeovil in the top tier of English football.
The 32-year-old has been impressed with the set-up and ambition at Swansea City, and is excited by the prospect of her new challenge.
“I’m buzzing to be here, it’s an opportunity I didn’t see coming my way but it was a no-brainer,” said Jones.
“I’m really excited by the prospect of what we have this season; the squad, the facilities here and the set up has really impressed me, so I’m looking forward to challenging for that league title.
“I’ve kept myself fit over the summer thinking that I may be going into another netball season for probably another three or four years, so it’s not like I had a long off season and was sat around.
“The move has come at a really good time for me personally, but I’m not just doing this for my own personal agenda, I’ve fallen in love with the project here at Swansea.
"The league has progressed massively and now it’s a really exciting and competitive league to play in.
“I look around the changing room and there is heaps of experience, internationally across the age groups and also in this league, I’ve never played in this league so I will definitely be leaning on them for a couple of tips.
“I’ve been around the block a little bit, been with a lot of different players and coaches. I know what it takes to compete at the highest-level week on week and hopefully I can lead by example in that sense.
“I want to win the league, and it’s a really challenging goal for us.
"I’ve experienced a lot of cool things, but to win this league and compete in the Champions League as the only Welsh representatives is something I’ve never done, so that really excites me.”
The move to Swansea City sees Jones reunite with Jamie Sherwood, having previously worked with the Swans first-team manager at Cardiff City Ladies and Yeovil.
Jones says her previous experiences with Sherwood gave her the confidence to step back into football, and she has enjoyed having the chance to work with him again.
“Conversations with Jamie [Sherwood] have been really exciting, we’ve stayed in touch for years and he’s always been really supportive of me in both sports,” said Jones.
“I always said I hadn’t hung my football boots up forever, so when word spread that I may be coming away from the netball court, I told him that I was full of energy and wanted to keep doing something. Him being here at Swansea City felt like a perfect fit.
“He was instrumental in helping me to return, I don’t think if anyone else had called me about the opportunity at that point that I would have been as open to it.
“Sport is a small circle and it’s about the relationships that you keep, so although we haven’t spoken every day in the last few years, we always keep an eye on what each other is doing.
“The fact he knows me as a person and a player is a big plus, he’s very passionate and takes real pride in what he does.
“Him, along with Yzzy Taylor, I’ve been really impressed with, the set up and style of the sessions have been really challenging.
"They want us on the ball playing football, but they want it at a really high intensity and it’s been a real physical challenge.”