When it comes to football, the name Eniola Aluko is synonymous with the game, and it comes as no surprise as she has etched herself into the history books with her latest achievement. The well-established football broadcaster and former player became the first black woman to own a football club in Italy.
The Nigeria-born Aluko is part of the ownership group Mercury 13, which has acquired Women’s Serie A side FC Como. According to Aluko, who was speaking in a video on her Instagram page with bizofsport, Mercury 13 is a venture capital fund inspired by 13 women who were denied the chance to go to the moon in the 60s.
The focus was to raise $100 million, which could be used to invest in multiple women’s teams around the world. She added that it is supposed to be a multiple ownership group with several investors who believe in the commercial opportunity to raise the value of women’s football and the teams.
“We bought the majority stakes in Como Women; it was the sort of play on how can we shift the narrative of women’s football, how can we speak to a new audience, how can we create a new world in women’s football by investing in it.”
Former Football Player, Broadcast, and now Club Owner, Nigeria-born Eniola Aluko
The news of her acquisition was met with great excitement as one Instagram user said, “This is so inspiring.”
“How we are making moves into different things as women and you are setting this pace for us in the space of football. I pray nothing less than to see this plant grow to fruition. The world is here to watch you do great things!!”
The former England international is more than equipped to raise the game for women, having made her mark on the sport and grown into a real figurehead for female football, becoming a firm advocate for equality and diversity within the game.
She has had an illustrious career in England, having played for the likes of Chelsea, Birmingham City, and Charlton Athletic, where she cemented herself as one of the top players. She also spent a year at Juventus.
It was in 2020 when she called time on her playing days, and this is when Aluko’s executive career began after she was named Aston Villa’s director of women’s football in that same year.
She then made a move to the National Women’s Soccer League to Los Angeles-based team Angel City FC, where she took up the same position in 2021. A year later, she transitioned to the director of football and left the club in 2023.
Along with her successful executive career, Aluko is also a well-known football broadcaster in England, where she is known to speak her mind. She is also a trained lawyer and will be hoping she can make even more of a mark as her journey in football ownership takes off.
Main Photo Caption: When it comes to football the name Eniola Aluko is synonymous with the game and it comes as no surprise as she has got her name in history with her latest achievement. The well-established football broadcaster and former player became the first black woman to own a football in Italy.
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