FORMER WALES CAPTAIN IN THE RUNNING FOR KEY WORLD FOOTBALL ROLE
FORMER Wales captain Laura McAllister could soon become one of the most powerful women in world football.
The Western Mail and WalesOnline columnist has been nominated by the Football Association of Wales for the position of UEFA’s designated female representative on the FIFA Council.
England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are supporting McAllister’s nomination.
McAllister, who earned 24 caps between 1994 and 2001, has played a key part in helping to raise the profile of the women’s game in Wales, working to help develop a stronger pathway for elite female players, while also helping to expand grassroots opportunities for women and girls.
A former chairman of Sport Wales and board member of UK Sport, McAllister is currently Professor of Public Policy and Governance of Wales at Cardiff University, and pens a column for the Western Mail’s Weekend Saturday magazine.
She has also served as director and vice-chairman of the FAW Trust Board for more than 12 years and has held the position of deputy chairman on UEFA’s Women’s Football Committee since 2016.
If elected, she would become UEFA’s first woman member of the FIFA Council who has also played the game at international level.
The 55 member associations will cast their vote at the UEFA Congress on March 2 next year.
On the nomination, Prof McAllister said: “The opportunity to stand for FIFA Council election is a particularly exciting challenge and one I look forward to immensely.
“My experience and expertise of the game and its governance will hopefully assure colleagues across Europe that I will be the superior candidate to represent them on the council of world football’s governing body.”
FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said: “I am delighted to put forth Laura McAllister as a candidate in the knowledge that she would be a formidable representative on FIFA Council.
“Laura has excellent credentials with an immense understanding of the game and governance, and we look forward to supporting her campaign for election.”
» Don’t miss Saturday’s Western Mail for Prof McAllister’s latest must-read column