Fifty most influential women in sport
Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development or behaviour of someone or something.
In sport, women hold influence in various forms: the athletes who inspire the next generation; the coaches who develop elite sportspeople; the administrators who have the power to implement change … All those and more feature in this countdown of the 50 most influential women in sport in 2023.
50. Allyson Felix, Former athlete, entrepreneur
Former American sprinter Felix is the most decorated track-and-field athlete of all time. She is credited with being one of those to call out Nike’s lack of salary protections for pregnant athletes, prompting the brand to improve its maternity policy in 2019. Following the death of her relay team-mate Tori Bowie this year, she has spoken a lot about maternal health, highlighting that black women in the United States are “three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women”. She is also the founder of Saysh, a running shoe brand with products designed for women’s feet.
Molly McElwee
49. Emily Frazer, Matchroom Sport director
If you believe Barry Hearn, Matchroom is the best sports promotions company in the world and one of its rising forces is Frazer, the group director of a company that turned over £214 million in its most recent accounts. As the CEO of Matchroom Multi Sport, too, Frazer has had a particular focus on growing sports such as pool, fishing, netball and basketball. But she is a growing influence throughout the organisation.
Jeremy Wilson
48. Hannah Cockroft, Para athlete
Cockroft, an all-time great of Paralympic sport, added another two world titles to her tally in 2023 and has the chance to cement legend status if she can strike gold in Paris at a fourth straight Paralympics next summer. An eloquent speaker, who hopes to go into the media when she does retire, Cockroft has also been an influential role model and advocate for the Paralympics.
Jeremy Wilson
47. Joy Neville, Rugby referee
Trailblazing Neville made history when she became the first female to officiate at a men’s Rugby World Cup. The former Ireland captain was one of seven television match officials at this year’s tournament in France. It was another milestone for Neville, who became the first female TMO for a top-level men’s Test – Wales versus Georgia in 2020.
Fiona Tomas
46. Katie Archibald, Cyclist
A force of nature on the track, Laura Kenny credited Archibald with masterminding their extraordinary Madison win in Tokyo. But it is not just Archibald’s strength as a rider that marks her out. The 29-year-old has suffered heartbreak since Tokyo: injuries, family issues and the tragic death of her partner, Rab Wardell. Her decision to go public and speak about her grief was hugely powerful, her bid to return to glory in Paris next year inspirational.
Tom Cary
45. Preeti Shetty, Brentford FC director
Shetty became the first British South Asian woman in a Premier League boardroom when appointed as a non-executive director at Brentford in August 2021. She is also a director at London Sport and a trustee at the Street Child United charity, which aims to use sport to change how the world sees street children. She has worked in football for more than a decade and is one of a growing number of women involved at Premier League clubs, such as Karren Brady (West Ham vice-chair), Donna-Maria Cullen (Tottenham executive director), Zarah Al-Kudcy (Chelsea commercial director) and Juliet Slot (Arsenal chief commercial officer).
Sam Dean
44. Ali Donnelly, More Than Equal CEO
Donnelly, a former senior civil servant who worked at Downing Street for a couple of years, has a wealth of experience in politics and journalism. But she is also a significant presence in sport and a champion of female athletes. Donnelly set up Scrumqueens.com, an award-winning women’s rugby website, and is a board member for the International Working Group on Women and Sport. Donnelly has also worked in high command at Sport England and is now the chief executive of More Than Equal, which aims to find, nurture and develop female racing drivers.
Tom Cary
43. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Athlete
Placed third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards, Johnson-Thompson enjoyed a fabulous 2023 in which she regained the world heptathlon title after coming back from serious injury. Next year, however, could be even bigger. Athletics remains the highest-profile of all Olympic sports and a gold medal in Paris would push her fame, influence and reach as a sporting role model into the stratosphere.
Jeremy Wilson
42. Stephanie Hilborne, Women in Sport CEO
Hilborne has spent almost five years at the helm of Women in Sport during a period of unprecedented growth in the profile of women’s sport. Her organisation’s recent statement calling for a protected category for all natal girls and women at any level of competitive sport was a significant intervention in the transgender debate. There is also a clear sense that governing bodies are now moving in the direction that she has advocated.
Jeremy Wilson
41. Hannah Mills, Sailor
The most successful female Olympic sailor of all time is now forging a path for women in SailGP and the America’s Cup. Mills, 35, is a strategist for Ben Ainslie’s team in the former series but it is surely only a matter of time before she helms her own boat. As for the America’s Cup, Mills is heading up the Athena Pathway Programme, which looks after Britain’s women and youth entries. Plus, there is her work as an environmental campaigner – Mills started the Big Plastic Pledge when she was still an Olympic sailor.
Tom Cary
40. Harmanpreet Kaur, Cricketer
As India’s captain she carries the hopes of a nation whose interest in women’s cricket is booming. A beautifully elegant batter, she leads a precocious team who are improving fast, while also plying her trade around the world in franchise leagues. This was a big year for Kaur: she led Mumbai Indians to the inaugural Women’s Premier League title and became the first Indian woman to be named one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year.
Will Macpherson
39. Kathryn Harby-Williams, Australian Netball Players’ Association CEO
Harby-Williams has been central to getting a new deal for players in Australia’s Super Netball league. The former “Diamonds” captain helped bring an end to a pay dispute with Netball Australia that lasted for 10 months, securing players an 11 per cent pay rise as well as a greater share of competition revenue. “This is a stepping stone to even greater things for the sport,” she said.
Sarah Mockford
38. Mikaela Shiffrin, Skier
Shiffrin is a phenomenon. The most successful World Cup alpine skier in history, man or woman. At 28 the American already has 91 World Cup wins to her name and is fast closing in on 100. She is also a double Olympic champion. Her career was almost derailed by the death of her father in 2020, but she bounced back with characteristic brilliance and has found her voice in other areas, too, notably on the gender pay gap.
Tom Cary
37. Mary Lou Bohn, Titleist Golf Ball president
The American is regularly named the most powerful woman in golf – hardly surprising given her status at Acushnet, the equipment giant in Massachusetts. Its Titleist brand holds a global market share of nearly 50 per cent, producing more than 90 million balls a year. On Tour, the popularity is even greater, with roughly 65 per cent of pros using the ProV1 or ProV1X. Bohn heads a company that utterly dominates its sector and despite new rules that will curtail the distance balls can travel there is nothing to suggest that Titleist’s grip will weaken anytime soon.
Jamie Corrigan
36. Tess Howard, Hockey player
Howard, scorer of England’s winning goal in last year’s Commonwealth Games final, brought about a change in hockey’s kit regulations after publishing peer-reviewed research showing how gendered school sports uniforms play a major role in the dropout rate of teenage girls in sport. After presenting her findings to England Hockey, the governing body relaxed its regulations and gave female players the option of wearing shorts. The International Hockey Federation has followed suit.
Fiona Tomas
35. Rebecca Welch, Football referee
Welch is set to make history this weekend when she will become the first woman to referee a Premier League fixture, Fulham v Burnley on Saturday. This year, she became the first woman to referee in the Championship. The 40-year-old began refereeing in 2010 and has been involved in Premier League matches already: in November, she was the fourth official for Manchester United’s match against Fulham.
Sam Dean
34. Clare Connor, ECB deputy CEO
Connor has worn a lot of hats in the game: England captain, teacher, director of women’s cricket, now deputy chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board. That makes her the most senior female figure in cricket in this country, and she led the “game-wide response” to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s report into diversity and inclusion. She is also chair of the ICC women’s cricket committee.
Will Macpherson
33. Amanda Staveley, Newcastle United co-owner
The British businesswoman is not only the public face of Newcastle’s ownership group but has also become so integral to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund that she played a key role in instigating the planned merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. Although the 50-year-old has only a 10 per cent stake in Newcastle, she is the person who attends all the Premier League meetings. She has also been the driving force in professionalising the women’s team.
Luke Edwards
32. Jo Tongue, Agent
As chief executive of talent management agency Tongue Tied Management, she plays a big role off the pitch. Her team’s list of clients include Leah Williamson, Jill Scott and Lutalo Muhammad, plus broadcasters such as Dion Dublin and Kelly Somers. Tongue negotiated Emma Hayes’s landmark contract with US Soccer to become the highest-paid female coach in world football. The former BBC Sport reporter is also a board member at Women in Football.
Tom Garry
31. Bianca Williams, Athlete
After being stopped and searched by police with her partner, Ricardo dos Santos, in July 2020, Williams used her experience to speak out against what she described as a “culture of racism” within the Metropolitan Police. In October, the 29-year-old British sprinter criticised an online fundraiser for Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks, the two police officers who were sacked over the incident. Despite being subjected to a torrent of social-media abuse, Williams said she had “no regrets” about reporting it.
Fiona Tomas
30. Sally Munday, UK Sport CEO
As the head of UK Sport – the funding body that controls the distribution of National Lottery cash to Olympic athletes – Munday’s potential power over sports governing bodies is vast. Her approach has been conciliatory and she has overseen a subtle shift from the “no compromise” mantra to a “medals and more” rhetoric that emphasises the importance of how you win. Sports, though, remain largely funded according to their medal potential and there remain concerns over some of the management and behaviour across Olympic sport.
Jeremy Wilson
29. Sam Kerr, Footballer
Arguably the best striker in the world – and the first female footballer to appear on the global cover of the Fifa video game – the 30-year-old has had a testing but rewarding year. She won the double with Chelsea and was the poster girl of the Women’s World Cup in her native Australia – she has helped the Matildas become the most-beloved sports team in Australia. A calf injury ruled her out of the group stage, but she returned for the knockouts and scored a stunning goal in the semi-final against England.
Luke Edwards
28. Victoire Cogevina Reynal, Mercury/13 CEO
Cogevina Reynal’s mission is simple: to bust the myth that women’s football cannot be profitable. The Greek-Argentine businesswoman leads the Mercury/13 group that plans to invest $100 million (£79 million) in the women’s game by buying football clubs in 13 different countries across Europe and Latin America. Named after 13 women who passed the astronaut test in 1960 but were subsequently not allowed to work for NASA, Mercury/13’s members include former England striker Eniola Aluko – and almost 200 teams have reached out since the consortium announced its plans in August. “We get to rewrite the rules of football ownership and rethink how that business can be sustainable in the long run,” she said.
Tom Garry
27. Sue Day, Rugby Football Union CFO
The former England full-back and captain is effectively second-in-command at English rugby’s governing body under chief executive Bill Sweeney. She has guided the organisation through the challenges of Covid to see it post an operating profit of £4 million for 2022-23. Her role will be key in the negotiations around hybrid contracts for England men’s players. As for the women’s game, she is heavily involved in plans for the home World Cup in 2025.
Sarah Mockford
26. Nat Sciver-Brunt, Cricketer
In women’s cricket right now, no batter hits the ball with Sciver-Brunt’s crisp purity whilst also fielding and bowling brilliantly. That is why England look a little lost without her and why she commanded £320,000 in the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction. Sciver-Brunt has been a fine ambassador off the field, too, speaking well about her mental health and her relationship with wife Katherine Sciver-Brunt.
Will Macpherson
25. Susie Wolff, F1 Academy managing director
Wolff is one of the leading female voices in motorsport. This year she was appointed to head up the F1 Academy, a female-only single-seater racing championship aiming to find F1’s next female driver. She has not been afraid of calling out the lack of engagement from top F1 drivers in this mission. She also labelled the recent short-lived investigation into her and husband Toto Wolff over a confidentiality breach as “misogynistic”.
Molly McElwee
24. Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for DCMS
As the cabinet minister with responsibility for sport, Frazer has vast theoretical power. At the Conservative Party conference, she highlighted her department’s call for governing bodies to address transgender regulations by prioritising safety and fairness over inclusion, but football and cricket continue to review their guidance.
Jeremy Wilson
23. Sarina Wiegman, England Women manager
Wiegman’s England were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the World Cup final but her words off the pitch have singled her out as a figure for female empowerment. She dedicated her Uefa Women’s Coach of the Year award to Spain, whose success was overshadowed by the behaviour of former president Luis Rubiales. “The game has grown so much, but there is a long way to go in women’s football and society,” she said.
Fiona Tomas
22. Dawn Aponte, NFL chief of football operations
Aponte is the most senior woman in the NFL, the highest-grossing league in professional sport. Her role oversees the league’s operational and administrative side, from officiating to the expanding slate of international games. She won praise for her handling of the on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin this year. Next year will be her 30th working within the NFL and she has been tipped as a successor to commissioner Roger Goodell.
Thom Gibbs
21. Marie-Odile Amaury, Groupe Amaury president
Described as the “First Lady” of the Tour de France, Amaury has considerable influence as president of Groupe Amaury, which presides over French sports daily L’Equipe as well as Amaury Sports Organisation, owner of some of the world’s most famous bike races including the Tour. Now in her eighties, Amaury was credited with keeping the Tour on track during the pandemic. Revenues last year climbed to €550 million (£470 million), a gain of 17 per cent.
Tom Cary
20. Karen Carney, Former footballer, broadcaster
Former England footballer-turned-pundit Carney led a major review into the future of domestic women’s football. Finding a dedicated broadcast slot, professionalising the Women’s Super League and Championship, as well as addressing the lack of diversity across the female game, were among her key recommendations. Carney also continues to be a successful pundit in men’s and women’s football.
Fiona Tomas
19. Rafaela Pimenta, Agent
The Brazilian is one of the world’s most powerful super-agents, with a stellar roster of clients headed by Erling Haaland. She is known as a tough negotiator but takes a holistic interest in players, too. Pimenta is also a champion for women in sport and has spoken out about the sexism she faced in her job. “I have seen many men when they cannot win the argument, put you down and say, ‘OK, you’re a woman. What do you know about football?’ ” she said in an interview with Telegraph Sport last year.
Jason Burt
18. Laura McAllister, Uefa vice-president
McAllister, the first woman to be a vice-president of European football’s governing body and the first Welsh representative on Uefa’s executive committee, began her four-year term in April after being unopposed in the election process. The former Wales captain, who won 24 caps for her country, is currently the only woman on Uefa’s executive committee.
Tom Garry
17. Jenni Hermoso, Footballer
World Cup winner Hermoso found herself at the centre of a global media storm when Luis Rubiales, the then president of Spain’s football federation, kissed her on the lips after the World Cup final. Rubiales was later banned from football for three years, but the incident, described as “Spain’s MeToo moment”, prompted demands for women’s voices to be heard – and believed – across society. Hermoso was one of more than 80 players who signed a letter calling for systemic change within Spain’s federation.
Fiona Tomas
16. Abi Tierney, Welsh Rugby Union CEO
Tierney takes up office in Wales next month, becoming the first female chief executive of a leading rugby union in the northern hemisphere – and just a year after the WRU was engulfed by allegations of racism, sexism, misogyny and homophobia. The former director general for passports, visas and immigration at the Home Office is no stranger to taking on serious challenges and now she finds herself as one of the most powerful women in British sports administration. She says: “Some people thrive at running organisations that are in a stable place, others thrive when there are complex challenges to try to solve, so this is my dream job”
Gavin Mairs
15. Nikki Doucet, NewCo CEO
Canadian Doucet, a former banker with previous experience in a top job with sportswear brand Nike, is now the most powerful administrator in English club women’s football, having been appointed as the first chief executive of the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship. Doucet is the leading figure at “NewCo”, the as yet unnamed company that will take over the running of the top leagues from the Football Association in time for next season.
Tom Garry
14. Debbie Hewitt, Football Association chair
The former RAC chief executive became the FA’s first chairwoman in January 2022. The 60-year-old later became the first woman to beat a male opponent to a seat on the Fifa Council, as a vice-president. Hewitt is not afraid to speak her mind and is helping to drive positive change at the FA, including much-needed reforms to its council. In a report made public by Fifa this month, Hewitt accused former Spain federation president Luis Rubiales of “inappropriate” conduct towards England players at the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony, including forcefully kissing Lucy Bronze.
Jason Burt
13. Lise Klaveness, Norway FA president
Klaveness, a former international footballer, worked as a lawyer, assistant judge and special advisor in Norway’s National Bank before she was elected as president of the Norway federation in 2022. The 42-year-old rose to prominence last year for her scathing attacks on Fifa and Qatar, saying the World Cup had been awarded in “unacceptable ways”. Last month she returned to Qatar and told Fifa it “has a responsibility to deliver the legacy it said it would”.
Sam Dean
12. Sulekha Varma, Clerk of the course at Aintree
Varma endured something of a false start as the first female clerk of the course at Aintree when, two months in, the 2020 Grand National was called off because of Covid. The world’s most famous race finds itself under pressure from different directions, including the animal rights lobby, and she is its custodian. She is the lead on decisions on any physical changes to the course, from lowering or moving the fences, and, as she has done this year, reducing the field size from 40 to 34. That is a big responsibility.
Marcus Armytage
11. Debbie Jevans, All England Club chair
Jevans has already filled several of the most scrutinised roles in British sport, such as her term as Locog’s director of sport during the 2012 Olympics and a spell as chief executive of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Now she is chair of the All England Club – the first woman to hold the position – and is playing a key role in Wimbledon’s expansion plans. Of her goals, she says: “One of our challenges is, as you say, to demonstrate how open we are. I do want Wimbledon to be aspirational: aspirational to win it, aspirational to become a member.”
Simon Briggs
10. Vinesh Phogat, Wrestler
A three-time Commonwealth champion and one of India’s most accomplished wrestlers, Phogat has been instrumental in driving a “Me Too” moment in Indian sport after accusing Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the chief of the Wrestling Federation Of India, of sexual misconduct. Along with other female wrestlers, the 29-year-old put her training on hold for this year’s World Championships to stage a series of sit-in protests in Delhi, jeopardising India’s medal prospects at next year’s Olympics. Her actions have sparked a national conversation about patriarchy in sport and the treatment of female athletes. Singh has denied all the allegations.
Fiona Tomas
9. Baroness Grey-Thompson, Former Paralympian, administrator
One of Britain’s greatest and yet most down-to-earth athletes. Grey-Thompson has followed her trailblazing achievements – 11 Paralympic golds, more than 30 world records and six London Marathon wins – with a distinguished career in politics and sports administration. She led a duty-of-care review into sport and, while the recommendation for a sports ombudsman has yet to be implemented, other important reforms have followed. She is also a huge champion of physical activity, particularly campaigning to improve opportunities for girls and women and to ensure that disabled fans and participants can access sport.
Jeremy Wilson
8. Charlotte Edwards, Cricket coach
Not all great sportspeople can translate their skill into being top coaches. But Edwards was England women’s greatest batter, and now women’s cricket’s first super-coach. She has won the Big Bash in Australia, the Women’s Premier League in India, the Hundred, and both regional titles in England – including one named after her. A fine talent-spotter and developer with excellent communication skills, she has the respect of all she comes across. It is a question of when, not if, she coaches England, but for now Edwards is very happy gathering experience on the lucrative franchise circuit.
Will Macpherson
7. Emma Hayes, Chelsea Women coach
The most successful coach in Women’s Super League history, having lifted a record-extending sixth title in 2023, Hayes will soon become the highest-paid female football coach in the world after agreeing to take charge of the United States women’s national team. The 47-year-old is always one to speak her mind and recently discussed the “systemic misogyny” women can experience in sport. She has also continued to advocate for further improvements in research around women’s health and for elite performance environments being specifically tailored for women.
Tom Garry
6. Coco Gauff, Tennis player
A big year for Gauff on the court saw her lift her first major title at the US Open and earn almost £18 million, according to a Sportico list that claimed she was the best-paid sportswoman of 2023. Politically, she continued to be the most engaged player on the tour. One example came during that run to the title in New York, when her semi-final was disrupted for almost an hour by climate-change protesters. Gauff declined to criticise the intervention, saying: “I believe in climate change… I know it was about the environment. I 100 per cent believe in that.”
Simon Briggs
5. Jessica Berman, NWSL commissioner
Berman has presided over transformational change in her first year in charge of America’s National Women’s Soccer League. She was central to securing a record £200 million media rights agreement for the division – 40 times larger than its previous television deal. Attendances at NWSL games exceeded 1.2 million this year, up a quarter from the previous season. Berman, who is also a qualified lawyer, has been credited with managing the fallout from a sex-abuse scandal that rocked the league in 2021.
Fiona Tomas
4. Billie Jean King, Former tennis player, activist
King made her name as a founder of the WTA, becoming a 39-time grand slam tennis champion across singles and doubles and winning the “Battle of the Sexes”. Though she recently turned 80, she remains a force for change across world sport, as well as a feminist and LGBTQ icon. She launched the Women’s Sports Foundation in the 1970s, and it continues to help women and girls advance in sport to this day. She is also part of the ownership groups of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, women’s football club Angel City, women’s basketball team the Los Angeles Sparks, and a new women’s hockey league in the US.
Molly McElwee
3. Alison Brittain, Premier League chair
Making history this year by becoming the first female chair of the Premier League – the world’s most powerful and lucrative football league – Brittain’s move into football comes after she had held key executive positions at several of the UK’s biggest banks and more recently after a spell as chief executive of hospitality firm Whitbread. Following the Premier League’s decision to dock Everton 10 points for breaching profitability and sustainability rules, she also hit back at accusations that the deduction was an “abuse of process”, telling Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham that the league refuted his allegation in its entirety.
Tom Garry
2. Simone Biles, Gymnast
This year Biles solidified her place as the greatest gymnast of all time; she has won 33 medals across the Olympics and World Championships so far. Her dominance on the mat has made her a superstar (she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault at this year’s worlds), and her activism and advocacy for survivors of abuse has inspired and forced change across her sport too. Her journey from the “twisties” – a mental block which saw her pull out of a number of finals at the Tokyo Games and step away from the sport – to return for the Paris Olympics will be one of the sporting stories of the year.
Molly McElwee
1. Mary Earps, Footballer
BBC Sports Personality of the Year; Fifa Best Women’s Goalkeeper; Women’s World Cup Golden Glove winner; Women’s Super League Golden Glove winner; fifth in the Ballon d’Or Feminin voting – the highest-ever ranking for a goalkeeper; Vogue Forces for Change honouree; now top of this list of the most influential women in sport.
Earps deserves a spot at No 1 not only because of her feats on the pitch, helping England to a first World Cup final – men’s or women’s – since 1966, but because of how she inspires people with her actions off it.
She was part of an “empowered” England squad that released a letter on the eve of the World Cup expressing their disappointment with the Football Association for failing to reach an agreement on bonuses – a pay dispute that was resolved in September. She spoke out about Nike’s failure to produce replica England goalkeeper shirts, describing the decision as “damaging” and “unacceptable”, and has since seen the company change its policy, with her shirt selling out in five minutes earlier this month. She has also been open about her struggles with the ups and downs of elite sport while showcasing her personality to her one million TikTok followers.
With Leah Williamson and Beth Mead injured for much of 2023, Earps has very much become the face of the Lionesses – she even signed off the year as England captain – and has used that platform to great effect.
Sarah Mockford
