Eni Aluko is concerned that not enough females are being employed as coaches or broadcasters in women’s football.
Former Chelsea star Aluko – who earned more than 100 caps for England during her playing career – made history in 2014 when she became the first woman to appear on BBC Match of the Day as a pundit.
Many women have followed in her footsteps since, while Aluko’s former Lionesses team-mate Alex Scott has hosted the show on multiple occasions.
But Aluko believes there should be more female representation on punditry panels on shows like Match of the Day, while she is also concerns that men are now taking over the women’s game when it comes to broadcasting, as well as coaching.
Aluko outlined her thoughts via LinkedIn on Sunday. She was responding to a post from Tongue Tied Management on Saturday, which was the 10-year anniversary of her Match of the Day debut.
Eni Aluko pictured on her Match of the Day punditry debut 10 years ago in September 2014
Aluko (second right) appeared alongside John Motson, Mark Chapman and Kevin Kilbane
That statement from Tongue Tied Management read: ’10 years ago today Eniola Aluko MBE made history becoming the first woman to be a pundit on Match of the Day.
‘As an agency we had pushed for this for years and Tongue Tied Management’s very own Jo Tongue MBE was working hard behind the scenes to make this happen.
‘Since then Eni has paved the way for female involvement in the men’s game in both punditry and on commentary. A huge shout out to BBC, ITV, Sky, Amazon Prime, and TNT Sports for continuing to support women in the men’s game.
‘There is still a long way to go but we are so proud of what Eni has achieved so far’.
Aluko responded by writing: ‘Forever grateful to Jo Tongue MBE & Tongue Tied Management for the love and respect acknowledging 10 years since making my first appearance on Match of the Day as the first female footballer to appear on MOTD. Jo and I believed that women should have a prominent voice in football.
‘I would love to be able to say in 10 years we’ve progressed in terms of women in football broadcasting. In some ways we have gone backwards.’
Aluko pictured at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where she was working for ITV Sport
Former England star Aluko pictured earlier this year at the Shein Women’s Football Awards
Aluko then continued to list her concerns by adding: ‘1. There are still only one or two maximum regular punditry spots for women across several broadcasters. Fyi Pundits and Presenters are two different roles.
‘2. Men are now dominating broadcasting (and coaching) in the women’s game because more money has become available. This includes male agents with exploitative financially driven agendas within women’s football demanding 20% commissions from salaries that are nowhere near the level of the men’s game. Women can never dominate the men’s game in the same way.
‘3. Sexism, misogyny and racism is still widespread within football fan culture. Some football broadcasters need to rapidly improve their duty of care towards pundits who receive such abuse. Sexism, misogyny, racism are not “part of the job”.
‘There is still a long way to go.’