News

Women in Football are delighted that their Co-Founder and Chair Anna Kessel has been awarded an MBE as part of the Queens birthday honours. She has been honoured for her services to journalism and women's sport.

As the Chair of Women in Football (WiF) Anna leads and represents the organisation. She helps ensure WiF continually champions female role models in football - from Heather Rabbatts to Dr Eva Carneiro- while also lobbying against sexism in the game.

Women in Football are delighted for Anna and so proud of her achievements. It is wonderful that she has been recognised in the Queen's birthday honours. Anna set up WiF in 2007 to support and champion women working in the football industry and she has helped grow the organisation, which was run by a voluntary board, to an organisation with two employees and over 1,600 network members.

Anna is a dedicated and truly inspirational individual who leads Women in Football with strength and determination. Anna always promotes and celebrates other leaders and I believe she should be recognized for her own achievements in leading and developing such an amazing organisation.

Anna said:

“I am absolutely thrilled to receive this Honour. It says so much about how far we've come over the last decade or so in terms of the recognition women in the sports industry are now getting.

In my own career I have been especially privileged to work alongside, and be supported by, some truly amazing individuals  - not least Women in Football co-founder Shelley Alexander, and all of the WiF directors. I wouldn't be receiving this award today without them.

There's much work still to be done before women truly achieve equality in the sector, but I'm excited to be part of the journey.  

NOTE TO EDITORS

 

Women in Football is a network of 1,600 professional women working in and around the football industry who support and champion their peers.

WiF aims to improve women's representation at all levels of the game by:

 

*Celebrating women's achievement 

*Challenging discrimination and lobbying for change

*Sharing professional contacts, advice and expertise

Share this article