Women's Football Speakers: Lionesses, Coaches and Leaders

Eleven women's football speakers you can book through PepTalk. Six played for England, four moved into coaching, broadcasting or the boardroom, and one is still playing. Grouped by what they do on stage rather than what they did on the pitch.

Since Euro 2022 this has become one of the most requested categories in sport, and the roster now runs deeper than the handful of names everyone recognises. The useful distinction is between a player telling a career story, which suits a celebration event, and someone who has since worked in coaching, media or governance, which suits a leadership or culture brief. For the wider list see our inspirational female speakers and football speakers.

Which Lionesses can you book as speakers?

Four names from the England side, three of them Euro 2022 winners. This group is the draw. Book from here for awards nights, all-company events and anything where the announcement does part of the work. Their material covers resilience, team building and dealing with pressure.

» Explore: All high performance speakers

Jill Scott MBE

161 England caps and a Euro 2022 winner, now a pundit and one of the most recognisable names in the women's game. She speaks on resilience and high-performance mindset, and handles a big room comfortably.

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Ellen White MBE

England's record goalscorer, a three-time International Player of the Year and a Euro 2022 champion. She campaigns against online abuse, which gives her a second subject beyond the football career.

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Chloe Kelly

Scored the winning goal in the Euro 2022 final and is still playing at the top level. The only currently active player on this list, which makes her the strongest draw and the tightest on availability.

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Kelly Smith

England's all-time top female goalscorer before White, a Hall of Fame inductee and now an Arsenal coach. She works on developing elite talent and building a winning culture rather than the career story alone.

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Who moved from playing into leadership?

Four former internationals who now hold coaching, executive, ownership or advisory roles. They bring the playing credibility plus a second career that translates directly to a business audience, which makes them the better fit for a leadership programme or a culture session. Related: effective leadership, diversity and inclusion and company culture.

» Explore: All sports leadership speakers

Karen Carney OBE

144 England caps, an Olympian, and now a broadcaster with an MBA. She led the government-commissioned review into domestic women's football, so she can speak to the structure of the game as well as playing it.

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Eniola Aluko

Over 100 England caps, a qualified lawyer, and a former sporting director on both sides of the Atlantic. She works with leadership teams on inclusive culture and performance, and is used to a hostile room.

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Anita Asante

71 England caps, now a Bristol City coach and a BBC and Sky Sports pundit. Her material covers performing under pressure and building inclusive cultures, which lands well with mixed corporate audiences.

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Bex Smith

Former New Zealand captain and a Champions League winner with Wolfsburg, later FIFA's Women's World Cup competitions manager and a director at COPA90. She now runs Crux Football, the European multi-club platform she founded, which buys women's clubs and operates them as standalone businesses, with Montpellier HSC Féminines and FC Rosengård in the group. The pick when the brief needs the investment and commercial side of the women's game.

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Who covers the game off the pitch?

Three bookings that come at women's football from media and governance rather than playing. Useful when the audience is not a sports audience, or when the brief is really about representation, health or institutional change with football as the setting. See also our broadcaster speakers and event hosts.

» Explore: All women in business speakers

Rosie and Mollie Kmita

Twin former footballers, now broadcasters and founders of The Powerhouse Project, working with Google, Nike and Sky Sports. A double booking, which changes the dynamic on a panel or a hosted session.

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Anita Nneka Jones

Bilingual sports presenter reporting for CBS Champions League, Sky Sports and Premier League Productions. She also advocates on endometriosis, which pairs the football credentials with a women's health brief.

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Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE

The first woman appointed to the FA board, a former CEO and one of the BBC's 100 Women. She speaks on governance and institutional reform, which is the boardroom version of this subject.

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Related topics: confidence, adversity, mental health and workplace wellbeing. Also see our International Women's Day speakers and female empowerment speakers.

How to choose between women's football speakers

Match the booking to the room. A recently retired international gives a general audience a story they recognise, and Jill Scott MBE and Ellen White MBE are the safest choices for a large mixed crowd. A coach or executive gives a leadership audience a method, which is where Eniola Aluko, Anita Asante and Bex Smith are stronger.

Availability is the practical constraint at the top of this list. Chloe Kelly is still playing, so her diary works around the season and international windows. If your date is fixed and falls mid-season, lead with the date.

One thing worth deciding early: whether you want football to be the subject or the setting. Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE and Anita Nneka Jones both use it as a setting for governance and health, which often lands better with an audience that has no particular interest in sport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the best women's football speakers for International Women's Day?

The best women's football speakers for International Women's Day include Jill Scott MBE, Ellen White MBE, Karen Carney OBE, Eniola Aluko, Anita Asante and Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE, who are all regularly booked for March events. Book early, since this category is heavily oversubscribed in the weeks around 8 March. Browse our full International Women's Day speakers list.

Can women's football speakers talk about business?

Yes, most women's football speakers can talk about business, because they have a second career that carries the content. Eniola Aluko is a qualified lawyer and former sporting director, Karen Carney OBE led the government review into domestic women's football and holds an MBA, Bex Smith founded and runs Crux Football, a European multi-club platform that buys and operates women's clubs, and Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE was the first woman on the FA board. Football is the way into the talk.

Which speaker covers investment in women's football?

Bex Smith covers investment in women's football, because she is doing it now. Her company Crux Football acquires European women's clubs and runs them as standalone businesses, with Montpellier HSC Féminines and FC Rosengård in the group and a target of five. She can speak to valuations, ownership models and where the commercial growth in the women's game is coming from.

Are any women's football speakers still playing?

Chloe Kelly is the only women's football speaker on this list still playing, which makes her diary the most constrained. The others have retired and now work in coaching, broadcasting, executive roles or full-time speaking, so they have far more availability.

Do any women's football speakers host or moderate?

Yes, several women's football speakers host or moderate. Rosie and Mollie Kmita are television presenters and work as hosts, and Anita Nneka Jones is a working sports broadcaster who presents live. Karen Carney OBE and Anita Asante both have regular punditry experience that translates to panel chairing. See our event moderators for more options.

Looking for a women's football speaker for your next event? Send us a message via the chat and we'll shortlist against your date, audience and budget. Remember, it's always a good time to get a PepTalk!