Meet the glam Commonwealth Games England ace who plays for NOTTINGHAM FOREST and credits Evangelos Marinakis for success

SHOOTING STAR Jayda Pechova has thanked Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis for putting her on track to the Commonwealth Games. Greek businessman Marinakis, 58, owns the two-time European Cup winners and two years ago he gave the green light to set-up a netball franchise. Nottingham Forest netball star Jayda Pechova has praised owner Evangelos Marinakis Credit: Getty She is a rising star of the sport Credit: Instagram / jaydapechova Pechova plays for the club’s netball team Credit: Instagram / jaydapechova They train at the university Credit: Getty Hampshire-born ace Pechova, 21, moved over to the East Midlands from Team Bath when they were launched and has flourished, named as Season MVP for 2026. Though she was not much of a football fan when she arrived, she has loved the close links to the multi-millionaire stars at the City Ground. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Not only is she grateful to shipping magnate Marinakis, she has learned to appreciate how big players like Morgan Gibbs-White or Nigerian defender Ola Aina are in the local community. Pechova told SunSport: “The professionalisation of the league happened and new teams were putting bids in. “The owner of Nottingham Forest also owns a football club in Greece. “They also have different sports there, not just football. So I think his idea was to expand that. “We’re so privileged to be alongside Nottingham Forest. The facilities we have and the set-up at Forest is extremely professional. “I’ve just done my dissertation on the professionalisation of the league. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Greek chief Marinakis is investing in other sports Credit: Getty Pechova will be at the Commonwealth Games Credit: Instagram / jaydapechova She has linked up with Morgan Gibbs-White and Ola Aina Credit: Instagram / jaydapechova “I feel like I have so much insight on how different the Forest set-up is to other franchises. “All our staff are full-time, including the strength-and-conditioning coaches and physios. “I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily super-tightly linked to the football teams because obviously they have a training ground, which doesn’t have a netball court. We train at the uni. “But we sometimes have player appearances together. We often go to the men’s games and the women’s games. “Walking around Nottingham in the kit, you get fans coming up to you, saying ‘come on you Reds’, asking you if you play for the women’s team. “You say: ‘Oh, no, we play netball’. Even at home games, we do signings for the fans. “I feel like Forest has helped netball grow quite a lot as well with the link to the football. “We don’t speak to (Marinakis) a lot. He’s not as involved as he is with the football. “Our head coach Chelsea Pitman says to us he watches the games. So, he’s happy that we’ve done well this past year. “So that’s all that really matters really.” Forest finished fourth in the netball super league table but then lost to Loughborough Lightning in the minor semi-final. For Pechova, this is her first taste of the big time at international level and she is inspired by her interactions with international footballers. Pechova added: “I saw Ola once at the hospital getting a scan and we had a quick chat. “Morgan Gibbs-White was on one of my Christmas hospital visits that we did for charity. “Before coming to Forest, I wasn’t a big football fan. I’m not super-clued in. The Brit has been asked if she plays football at matches Credit: Instagram / jaydapechova She is a big catch for the team Credit: Getty “But I feel like I’ve got to know it, by watching the games. “When I joined, I was like, oh my gosh, football has so much money. This is crazy. “These people are like proper celebrities. “I don’t think I realised how important and how big football was before I came.” Pechova’s first appearance will be the group-opener against Northern Ireland on Saturday at The Hydro and then it is the big grudge match against reigning champions Australia on Sunday. England were beaten by the Aussies in the semi-finals at the Birmingham 2022 Games. And the squad was rocked on Thursday by news that Natalie Metcalf, a veteran of the 2018 gold medal-winning squad, was ruled out of the Glasgow 2026 Games due to injury. Metcalf, 33, sustained a calf issue during the warm-up for a training session at the prep camp on Monday and has been ruled out on medical grounds. She will be replaced by Ella Clark of the Loughborough Lightning. Comment now