Sports are typically portrayed as a male-dominated domain. Women have made great strides in recent years, emerging as leaders in many sports disciplines. These women have not only redefined sports leadership, but they have also produced results on and off the field. Here are 12 Black women who have made an impact in sports from around the world.
Doris Petra
Doris Petra is in charge of the Kenyan Football Federation. She is the President of the Football Federation of Kenya. She was the association’s first deputy president before taking on her current role.
She began playing football in her forties and has since worked her way to the top of Kenay football administration.
Gbemisola Abudu
NBA Africa’s vice president is Gbemisola Abudu. She also serves as the NBA Nigeria’s newly created country head. According to Sports Illustrated, she is the league’s only woman of color and the youngest president.
Abudu is a seasoned business owner, marketer, and brand builder.
Fatma Samoura
Fatma Samoura is FIFA’s first female Secretary General. She worked as a diplomat and in various senior executive positions prior to her appointment. In 2018, Forbes named her the most powerful woman in the world, and the BBC named her one of their 100 most powerful women.
As FIFA’s general secretary, she is in charge of carrying out council decisions and managing the organization’s finances. She is also in charge of the organization’s international relations, as well as the World Cup and other competitions.
Sandra Douglass Morgan
Sandra Douglass Morgan is the Las Vegas Raiders’ president. She is the first black woman to work for an NFL team, as well as the third African-American and third woman to lead an NFL team.
She was also the state’s African-American attorney from 2013 to 2016. She previously worked as the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s executive director and as the director of external relations for AT&T Services Inc. in southern Nevada.
She was also employed by MGM Resorts International.
Kanizat Ibrahim
Kanizat Ibrahim is a Comoran businessman and football official. She is the Confederation of African Football’s vice president.
Shelly Cayette
Shelly Cayette recently became the Cleveland Cavaliers’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer, making her the first black woman to hold this position. Her job entails overseeing ticket sales and sponsorship agreements.
“It’s mixed feelings because typically, like you said, you get promoted and you’re like wow, I worked hard and it’s been a 15-year career, it’s exciting, you celebrate with your family and friends, and then this one turns around and there’s a national buzz around it, even up to global,” she told Clevaland19 when she was first promoted.
Shetellia Riley Irving
Shetellia Riley Irving is the agent for NBA star Kyrie Irving, her stepson. She was hired after Kyrie restructured his management team.
Irving’s stepmother, who is now his agent, is the vice president of ad sales at BET.
Barbara Gonzalez
Barbara Gonzalez was named the first female CEO of Tazania’s football powerhouse, Simba FC. She was the Chief of Staff at the MeTL Group office prior to her appointment.
“We are very positive that Barbara will deliver to our standard. She is a hardworking woman and has been working here in the past four years during the transformation of the club. We believe that experience will help her in this endeavour,” a statement from the Board of Simba FC announcing her appointment said.
Kim Davis
Kim Davis is the senior executive vice president of the National Hockey League. Before that, she was managing director of global corporate social responsibility at JPMorgan Chase.
Kiesha Nix
Kiesha Nix made history by becoming the first Black woman to serve as the Lakers’ vice president of charitable affairs. Nix became one of the most powerful women in philanthropy as a result of her position.
She was the executive director of the Community Lakers Youth Foundation prior to her current position. And she learned everything she needed to know about her new role from NBA legend Magic Johnson.
Nix and Johnson collaborated on a number of community events for 10 years while she worked for Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. “I started as a project manager at Merrill Lynch almost 30 years ago, and by the time I left, I was negotiating contracts on behalf of Bank of America after the two institutions merged,” she told Sports Illustrated.
According to Sports Illustrated, she was also managing investments for several CEOs and other high-net-worth clients and was at ease in her official role as a financial advisor.
Nicole Lynn
Nicole Lynn is the first African-American woman to represent an NFL quarterback in the Super Bowl. Jalen Hurts, the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, is represented by her. The Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, while the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 to advance to the Super Bowl. The two will square off in Glendale, Arizona, for Super Bowl LVII.
Two Black starting quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts, will appear in the Super Bowl for the first time. Although this is not the first time Black quarterbacks have appeared in and won the Super Bowl, there have never been two Black quarterbacks starting for opposing teams.
When the Eagles face the Chiefs, Lynn’s name will go down in history as the first Black woman to represent a quarterback in the prestigious faceoff.
Autumn Lockwood
Autumn Lockwood, the Philadelphia Eagles’ assistant performance coach, will become the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl when she joins the team for the upcoming Super Bowl LVII championship.
According to Fansided, Lockwood is on her way to her first Super Bowl experience as a coach after working with the Eagles since August 2022.
She is a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) member and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) (NSCA).
Lockwood has worked as an assistant football strength coach at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, as a graduate assistant on the ETSU strength and conditioning staff with the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and as the head of Arizona’s in-season cheer team’s warm-up and strength training.
Lockwood’s accomplishments include being a member of Arizona’s women’s soccer team from June 2012 to January 2014.
Her position as a coach in this year’s Super Bowl LVII also makes her the fourth woman in Super Bowl history.