Football executive, broadcaster and former player Eni Aluko has been named on the King’s Birthday Honours List and awarded an MBE for her services to football and charity.
Aluko announced her retirement from football in 2020, having played a six-year stint at Chelsea where she claimed three league titles, before playing for Juventus for 18 months and finishing top goal-scorer of the season. Her previous clubs include Birmingham and Charlton Athletic.
Aluko was a fundamental part of the England Women’s National Team, receiving her first call up aged 14. In the senior squad, she made 102 appearances from 2004-2016 and scored 33 goals. In this time, she represented England and Great Britain at three World Cups, Three European Championships, and an Olympics.
A week after retiring from professional football, Aluko was announced as the director of women’s football at Aston Villa. In 2021, she then moved to become the sporting director of NWSL team Angel City, later taking the role of director of recruitment. In 2023, Aluko stepped down from the role, in order to focus on other opportunities closer to home.
Throughout her career, Aluko has used her platform as a voice for ethnic minorities and women in sport and is committed to advocating for equality and fair treatment in the game. She has worked with multiple charities such as Saving Lives, Charity Water and Common Goal. Most recently, she represented England versus World XI in charity match Soccer Aid, raising over £14 million for charity UNICEF, which aims to give disadvantaged children the best start in life.
Aluko has been a pioneer for women in football. In 2014, she became the first female to appear as a pundit on Match Of The Day, and later became the first female pundit for ITV at the men’s World Cup in Russia. Aluko has been a regular broadcaster ever since, for both Premier League and Women’s Super League games, as well as men’s and women’s World Cups.
In 2016, Aluko took to the Football Association after hearing racist remarks made by ex-England head coach Mark Sampson. Throughout her career, she has been vocal about the treatment of black and mixed-race players in the national team, and has been at the forefront of demanding equal treatment and diversity training for both players and staff.
English football was well-represented in the King’s Birthday Honours list. Also receiving MBEs was television personality and former player Ian Wright, as well as referee Amy Fearn.
Aluko dedicated her award to her mother, Sileola Aluko, writing that she “instilled aspiration, faith, hard work and the importance of giving”, and “encouraged me to dream beyond limitation with my football”.
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