Former Aston Villa and Angel City sporting director Eni Aluko is part of a new multi-club ownership group promising to invest $100million (£78.6m) in women’s football clubs across Europe and Latin America.
The group, Mercury 13, has announced that it is already in a period of exclusivity to buy a controlling stake in English second-division club Lewes FC. It says negotiations for first division teams in Spain and Italy are also advanced, and that Argentina and Uruguay will be its next targets.
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Mercury 13 — spearheaded by Greek-Argentine entrepreneur Victoire Cogevina Reynal — says its vision is “identifying and investing in the next decade’s super clubs and fuelling their commercial power.”
Lewes, who play in the FA Women’s Championship — one tier below the Women’s Super League — have powered equality in the game by splitting budget and resources between the men’s and women’s teams, paying players the same salaries.
“Lewes was a clear choice since they represent many core principles of how we believe a women’s club should be managed,” Cogevina said.
Lewes FC CEO Maggie Murphy added: “Over many years, and thanks to the efforts of our owners, volunteers, staff, coaches, players, and directors we have collectively built a club to be proud of. Mindful that we have only scratched the surface of our potential impact on and off the pitch, we have looked to identify potential partners who could not only join but elevate our club community.
“The team at Mercury 13 have demonstrated their commitment to our steadfast principles of equality, equity, fan ownership, and local to global community impact, which is a hard ask of an investment partner which is why we are keen to progress the conversations.”
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As well as Aluko, Mercury 13’s group members include former FIFA chief innovation officer, Nancy Hensley, ex-Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Arianna Criscione and Ebru Koksal, a former CEO and board member of Turkish football club Galatasaray. Koksal was also the first woman to be elected to the European Club Association (ECA) executive board.
Aluko, 36, has primarily focused on her punditry duties since departing as Angel City’s sporting director in January this year.
She joined Angel City in May 2021 to become their first-ever sporting director, having left a similar role at Villa to take up the vacancy.
As sporting director, Aluko led roster management, the club’s recruitment strategy, oversaw player and technical staff development, and acted as the NWSL liaison, managing compliance and administration.
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Aluko was recently part of ITV’s punditry team for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
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(Photo: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
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