Nigerian-born Eniola Aluko becomes first black woman to own Italian club
Eniola Aluko, who played for the England national team between 2004 and 2016 before her retirement from professional football in 2020, has become the first black woman to own a club in Italy.
The 37-year-old confirmed the information on X, revealing that she is now a part of the ownership group, Mercury 13, which acquired a major stake in FC Como’s female team, which plays in the Italian topflight. The club was established in 2020.
It is at the Northern Italy-based side that Eniola decided to venture into sports ownership after years of primarily focusing on sports broadcasting since her retirement.
The former female striker played for Chelsea, Birmingham City and Juventus among other clubs. She later took administrative duties with clubs such as Aston Villa in England and Angel City in the American National Women’s Soccer League, where she served as Sports Director.
Eniola Aluko was born in Lagos in 1987, but later moved to England where she naturalized and played for the national team, winning bronze with the Lionesses at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
