Narrowing this list to just five was extremely difficult, as there are many women who have influenced my love for football. However, these are the top five influential women, I believe are raising the game today.
1. Isha Johansen
Isha Johansen is the president of the Sierra Leone Football association, being one of the few women in the world to head a national football association. She previously founded the Sierra Leone National premier league club F.C. Johansen, setting the objective to provide opportunities to children whose lives were affected by the Sierra Leone Civil war.
2. Chan Yuen Ting
In 2016, Chan Yuen Ting became the first women to coach a men’s professional top-flight team. Following this, she won the Hong Kong championship when she managed Eastern against Guangzhou Evergrande in the AFC champions league.
Chan Yuen Ting- Photo credit: "File:Chan Yuen Ting.JPG"by Dltl2010 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Jill Ellis
Coaching the US women’s national soccer team from 2014-2019, she won two FIFA women world cups in 2015 and 2019, making her the second coach to win consecutive world cups. She currently resides as an ambassador for the united states soccer federation to help raise the number of women in coaching.
Jill Ellis- Photo credit: "Jill Ellis"by Jamie Smed is licensed under CC BY 2.0
4. Marta
With seventeen goals, she holds record for most goals scored at FIFA women’s world cup tournament. Marta is the first footballer of either gender to score at five world cup editions. Whilst being named FIFA world player of the year six times, she is often regarded as the greatest female player of all time.
5. Jacqui Oatley
Jacqui pioneered in the role of women taking presenting roles in football shows, becoming Match of the Day’s first ever female commentator in 2007. Since, she has worked at the Women’s World Cup and the Africa cup of Nations, whilst being a regular on the BBC’s flagship highlights programme.
Who do you think are the most influential women in football today?
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