With the Women’s World Cup captivating global audiences, it’s the perfect moment to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of some of the female sporting speakers we proudly represent at JLA.
These eight inspiring female conference speakers exemplify the values of athletic excellence, leadership, and motivation. Whether they are Olympic champions, record-breaking athletes, or trailblazing sports broadcasters, their personal journeys are filled with stories of overcoming adversity, pushing limits, and striving for greatness.
By sharing their unique perspectives, these speakers will captivate and energize any audience, offering valuable insights into resilience, teamwork, and what it takes to lead with confidence on and off the field. Let their experiences of breaking barriers and achieving success fuel your passion, as they help set the tone for an inspiring and successful sporting summer.
Top Female Sporting Speakers
Hope Powell
Former England Women’s Football manager
Hope coached the England Women’s football team and was the first ever full-time coach employed. Involved in negotiating professional contracts and with responsibility for junior-level mentoring programmes, Hope is one of a small number of well-known conference speakers from the world of women’s football.
Paula Radcliffe
GB Marathon Runner
Paula is one of Britain’s most well known athletes, and ran her last race at the London Marathon in 2015. As conference speakers go, she is approachable and engaging, with a wealth of stories from her two decades in athletics.
Karren Brady
Vice Chair, West Ham United
Karen is one of the more impressive conference speakers on the circuit. The ‘First Lady of Football’ was MD of Birmingham City at the tender age of 23 and she is also Alan Sugar’s Apprentice aide, showing her tough management style to a new group of upstarts each year (lots of them hopeful conference speakers themselves!).
Martina Navratilova
Tennis Ledgend
Martina is one of the few conference speakers to have won a Grand Slam. Now based in the US she is one of the more popular conference speakers on the highly competitive US circuit, but she travels to the UK often to commentate on the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
Record-breaking Paralympian
Tanni, now a Baroness, is a record-breaking Paralympian, winning the London Marathon on six consecutive occasions. On the conference speakers’ circuit, she shares her insights on planning, high performance and teamwork, and on her time in the Lords.
Hazel Irvine
Sports Broadcaster
Hazel is available for after-dinner speeches and awards, and also for facilitating and hosting days – keeping conference speakers in check. Hazel has a lovely light-touch and some great stories from her years in broadcasting – she might even name-check some of our more famous conference speakers!
Sally Gunnell
Legendary British Hurdler
Sally is one of the few sporting speakers who focuses on corporate wellbeing, as well as relating the story of her Barcelona Olympic win. She is the only female hurdler in history to have held both Olympic and World titles, as well as the world record. How many conference speakers can say that?
Ebony Rainford-Brent
Former England Cricketer
Ebony is new to the professional circuit of conference speakers. She played cricket for England, winning the World Championship, the Women’s World Twenty20, and the Ashes. She was the first black woman to play for England and is now Director of Women’s Cricket at Surrey CC. She coaches and mentors and will be an excellent addition to JLA’s roster of motivational speakers.