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Earlier this week we completed the second session of this season's Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme – a brilliant project from WIF and global small business platform Xero which provides support for women building businesses around the football industry. To mark the occasion we're introducing two more women who are involved in the programme and telling you a bit about their fantastic companies.

 

Geraldine Jackson

Company name: Unipro UK Ltd

Company established: June 2022

What does the company do? We originally established UNIPRO as a football academy in partnership with universities to provide a high-performance football development programme for student athletes who want to continue their education. Since collaborating with Sheffield Hallam University, we’ve expanded to launch a cricket academy in collaboration with the R66T Academy, set to open alongside our football academy in September 2025. With both football and cricket programmes now under UNIPRO, we've transitioned into a broader sports academy and are exploring partnerships with additional universities, along with the potential to establish our own BTEC institute. 

Describe yourself: Wife, mum of four, and founder and CEO of UNIPRO. I’m juggling life of a big family and startup business while trying to keep a healthy balance. Driven and organised, I'm passionate about creating opportunities for athletes to pursue education while reaching their full athletic potential. With a background in competitive golf, I now find joy in family time, especially movie nights, hosting friends, outdoor walks, weekly walking football with an incredible group of ladies, as well as going to the gym and playing padel tennis. 

Background connection to football: My background is very sparing. To be honest, I feel like a duck out of water. My only connection until recently has been through my four children playing grassroots football locally. A few years ago the opportunity to work with football and education presented itself and since then I have loved being involved from a business perspective, but I always feel way out of my depth as my football knowledge is very limited.  

Why did you want to join the programme and what are you hoping to gain? I wanted to join the Women in Football programme to connect with like-minded professionals, expand my industry knowledge, and contribute to advancing women’s representation in football. I'm eager to learn from inspiring leaders, develop new skills, and gain valuable mentorship that will empower me to support the future females of the game on and off the pitch. 

How have you benefitted most from being a WIF member? Inspiration. I’ve been immensely inspired by all the incredible women out there advocating and creating opportunities. As mentioned above, my background in and connection to football have been very limited, but being a member of WIF has not only inspired but motivated me to really think about what I can do and contribute; how I can enhance the experience of the female players I hope join our programme, who will in turn (I hope) go out and support and lead the way for others.  

If you'd like to say hello, connect with Geraldine on LinkedIn.

 

Alex Greenwood

Company name: Inmotion Collective

Company established: 2021

What does the company do? We function as a creative agency specialising in women's sport. We create campaigns and events that support organisations in shaping the culture of women's sport. Our work includes consultancy, content, and event production. For example, this year we partnered with the FA to curate and produce an event celebrating the Women’s FA Cup. 

Background connection to football: All three founders met through playing on teams together at different stages in our lives and two of the founders still play for Dulwich Hamlet today. As passionate fans, we’ve made women’s football our strategic focus, dedicating 80% of our early work to the sport and channelling our shared experiences into supporting its growth and visibility. 

Why did you want to join the programme and what are you hoping to gain? We recognise the importance of community and networks in achieving our goal of expanding access to women's sport. We're really proud of the achievements of INMOTION within its first three years of operation but are aware of our need for greater expertise and the potential learnings we can gain through the programme and network it offers.

What have you benefitted most from being a WIF member? I have benefitted most from the events and access to a network of supportive and inspiring women in the space. I have been able to learn about key research and insights from the industry and have dramatically improved my understanding of the landscape for women working in football today.

You can connect with Alex on LinkedIn here.

 

Empower, mentor, succeed

For a second consecutive year, Women in Football and Xero are offering promising businesses a comprehensive package of support, in a 'game of two halves' format, through the Small Business Programme.

The programme provides a culture of belonging and empowerment which offers those taking part the opportunity to connect with other women facing the same daily obstacles.

The first half of the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme develops participants' enterprise skills, knowledge and professional networks. Seven in-person and online workshop sessions cover useful topics such as business finance, starting or growing your business, branding, networking and looking ahead to being an effective and inclusive employer. 

The second half provides one-to-one mentoring by matching up the entrepreneurs with Women in Football members who have already built successful businesses of their own.

The inaugural programme, which took place over the course of this past year, was a roaring success, featuring a cohort of 12 brilliant female entrepreneurs, and a wide range of business types including a tech company, an underwear retailer, a social agency and various consultancies.

Check out the highlights from last year’s programme

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