Eniola Aluko Keynote Speaker

Eniola Aluko MBE is a British-Nigerian football executive, broadcaster and qualified lawyer who earned 105 caps for England, competing at three FIFA Women’s World Cups and the London 2012 Olympics. A prolific forward for clubs including Chelsea, Juventus and Birmingham City, she lifted multiple FA WSL titles and FA Cups while also completing a first-class law degree.

Since hanging up her boots in 2020, Aluko has shaped the strategic direction of top-flight teams as Sporting Director at Aston Villa Women and inaugural Sporting Director of Angel City FC in Los Angeles, where she oversaw recruitment, performance culture and global brand growth. In 2024 she made history as the first African woman appointed to the board of FC Como Women in Italy’s Serie A, as part of Mercury/13’s $100 million investment in women’s football.

Aluko is equally influential off the pitch as a trailblazing voice in sports media. The first woman to analyse football on BBC’s Match of the Day, she is now a regular pundit for ITV, Sky Sports, Amazon Prime and Fox Sports, offering insightful commentary across the men’s and women’s games. Her acclaimed memoir, They Don’t Teach This, explores identity, resilience and high performance beyond sport.

In 2023, Aluko was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football and charity. In July 2024, she launched a £60,000 scholarship with Brunel University London to support aspiring lawyers and athletes, in partnership with Adidas.

On stage, Aluko distils lessons from elite competition, C-suite decision-making and courtroom discipline to help organisations cultivate winning mindsets, inclusive cultures and agile talent strategies. Dynamic, data-driven and globally fluent, she inspires audiences to turn diversity into competitive advantage and lead with integrity in fast-moving environments.