Women have played a major role in the world of football recently, not only in terms of women’s football, but also in terms of men’s football.
In recent years, more than one woman has entered the world of men’s football, whether through administrative work sometimes, or working in the players’ business agency at other times, or the presidency of national federations and sports institutions as well, in historical transformations that occurred in the first popular game in the world.
In the following lines, “Al Ain Sports” reviews the most prominent women’s names that have emerged strongly on the football scene in recent years.
Marina Granovskaya
The beautiful Russian Marina Granovskaya, the former CEO of Chelsea Football Club, is considered one of the most important sports figures in the English capital London in recent years.
Paris Saint-Germain takes a strict decision against Messi and his companions
Granovskaya contributed to Chelsea’s crowning with many major titles, most notably the English Premier League on more than one occasion, and the Champions League on two occasions.
The so-called Iron Lady, who worked in Chelsea during the reign of her compatriot Roman Abramovich between 2003 and 2022, also drew up a plan for the Blues to contract with a group of the most important players throughout its history, most notably the Spaniard Fernando Torres, the Belgian Eden Hazard, the German Kai Havertz, and others.
First Sandrock
Ola Sandrock, wife of German coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool coach, is considered one of the most influential women in European football in recent years.
Klopp married Sandbruck in December 2005, where they met while she was working as a waitress in Munich, to begin the story of her standing behind him in the world of football.
Sandbrook also works as a writer of children’s novels, and her first book was called “Tom and the Magic of Football”, a book about the magic world of football, which led an 11-year-old to become an outstanding player.
Sandbrook had a major role in Jurgen Klopp’s life by helping him make some important decisions in his life, the last of which was dissuading him from leaving Liverpool and persuading him to stay at Anfield Road until 2026, after he was scheduled to leave in 2024.
Wanda Nara
Wanda Nara is one of the most famous women’s names in the world of men’s football, and she is the wife of Argentine Mauro Icardi, the current French Paris Saint-Germain player, and the ex-wife of Maxi Lopez, the former Italian Lazio player.
Wanda Nara is not only Icardi’s business manager, but she is also an actress and works as a model, and she is considered one of the most famous players’ agents in modern football, and has been accused several times of being the cause of her husband’s crises with the management of his former club Inter Milan, and even that she thwarted his move to Real Madrid before .
Wanda Nara entered into disputes with the Inter Milan club management due to some details regarding the renewal of the player’s contract in 2019, and a press report published in 2022 that the Real Madrid administration returned to interest in contracting with Icardi, but on the condition that his wife is not his agent, and does not interfere in the negotiations .
Veronique Rabiot
Ms. Veronique Rabiot, mother of Adrien Rabiot, the star of the Italian team Juventus and the France national team, is considered one of the most powerful personalities in the world of football.
Veronique has recently disrupted her son’s transfer to Manchester United due to the financial exaggeration of Adrian’s salary, especially since it had a significant impact on her son’s football career, as she refused to back down from her financial demands to complete the deal.
Veronica had previously caused Rabio to enter into a crisis with the management of his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, and rejected the club’s inappropriate treatment of her son, saying in statements 3 years ago: “The club rejected an offer to sell Rabiot, they did not inform us of his arrival until the eve of the closure of the summer transfer market.” .
Debbie Hoyt
In June 2021, Debbie Hewitt became the first woman to head the English Football Association, after the latter announced her appointment to the historic position a year ago, given her great experience in the presidency and governance and her work in a wide range of business sectors.
Hewitt has the leadership and personal capabilities required to take up the position, especially as she has previously worked in several major companies, including Visa, and has contributions to serving the public and business sectors, and 11 years ago she was awarded the Order of Merit by the Queen of Britain.
Alison Brittain
Alisson Brittain, chairman of the Premier League, has become one of the most powerful figures in world football, having assumed the post by unanimous vote after the clubs voted less than a month ago.
Brittain will take over the position early in 2023, succeeding interim president Peter McCormick, who took over after the resignation of Gary Hoffman last November, following the acquisition of Newcastle United by a Saudi-backed consortium.
Alison Brittain has a long history in the economic field, having oversaw the £3.9 billion sale of the famous Costa coffee chain to Coca-Cola.
In the same context, Brittain worked as a Senior Executive Director in the financial services sector with Barclays Bank, the Spanish financial services company Santander and Lloyds Bank. She also worked as an advisor to the last 3 British heads of government, and was awarded the Order of the UK in 2019.
Fayza Al-Amari
Fayza Al-Ammari, a Frenchwoman of Algerian origin, mother of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, was primarily responsible for her son’s career, and this is not evidenced by the fact that she took over the file of the player’s transfer to Real Madrid before it failed.
According to what the international press published last March, it was Al-Amari who started the story of preventing her son from wearing the Meringue shirt, after she requested 150 million euros, the amount that Paris Saint-Germain offered to Mbappe to persuade him to stay, in order to agree to the transfer.
In conjunction with these reports, Al-Ammari always confirmed the incorrectness of what was reported about the existence of an agreement between the player and Real Madrid, which was eventually true when Kilian decided to stay in the French capital to wear the European champion shirt.