Professor Laura McAllister (born 10 December 1964) is a Welsh academic, former international footballer and senior sports administrator. As a

Wales women's national football team The Wales national women's football team ( cy, Tîm pêl-droed merched cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the t ...

player, McAllister won 24

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

and served as team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. She is currently Professor of Public Policy and the Governance of Wales at the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University. She was formerly Professor of Governance at Liverpool University. She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to sport. She was a board member of Stonewall from 2012 to 2015, and is currently a board member of the

Institute of Welsh Affairs The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) () is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in public policy and debate around the economy, education, environment and health sectors in Wales. Hist ...

. She is Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and a Non-executive Director of Goodson Thomas boutique executive search agency. She was honoured as one of the

BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's women ...

in December 2022.

Academic career

McAllister is a former pupil of Ysgol Glyndwr and Bryntirion Comprehensive School in Bridgend. She is a graduate of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

, where she completed a BSc. (Econ.) Honours degree in Government, and at

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, where she completed a PhD in Politics. She was Professor of Governance at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

Management School between 1998 and October 2016. She is now Professor of Governance and Public Policy at Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre. She is a member of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales ( Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh natio ...

and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. She was a member of the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

Remuneration Board from 2014 to 2015, an advisor to the Independent Panel on Assembly Members' Pay and Support from 2008 to 2009, and a member of the Richard Commission between 2002 and 2004. She advised the Independent Panel on AMs' Pay and Support, 2008–10 and was Chair of the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform which published its report "A Parliament that Works for Wales" in December 2017. In October 2021, she was named co-chair of the Independent Constitutional Commission on Wales' place in the United Kingdom. She holds honorary degrees and fellowships from

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, Cardiff University,

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

, Swansea University, and Trinity St David's University.

Club career

McAllister was a club athlete (middle distance) and played netball and hockey. She did not play organised football until she joined Millwall Lionesses while studying at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

. Upon her return to Wales, she spent 12 years with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. McAllister was Club Captain and collected two Welsh Women's Cup winner's medals and won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

into the

FA Women's Premier League The FA Women's National League, formerly WFA National League and FA Women's Premier League (WPL), is a group of six football divisions run by the English Football Association. Founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, the League inclu ...

with Cardiff City. She is one of the club's Vice Presidents.

International career

In 1992, McAllister was one of three female footballers who lobbied

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

(FAW) secretary

Alun Evans Alun William Evans (born 30 April 1949) is an English former footballer who made his name as a centre forward in the Liverpool side rebuilt by Bill Shankly at the start of the 1970s. He was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Career Evans b ...

to grant recognition to women's football in Wales. An official team was put together and entered the

1995 UEFA Women's Championship qualification The qualification for UEFA Women's Euro 1995 was held between August 15, 1993 & October 30, 1994. The winner of the quarter-finals qualified. First round Group 1 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group 2 ...

tournament. McAllister made her debut in Wales' second match, a 12–0 defeat by eventual winners

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

. She won a total of 24 caps for Wales and was team captain on many occasions.

Sports governance

Professor McAllister was Chair of

Sport Wales Sport Wales ( Welsh: ''Chwaraeon Cymru'') is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim t ...

between 2010 and March 2016. In this role, she oversaw the most successful period ever for elite sport in Wales, with Wales winning a record number of medals in the

Commonwealth Games 2014 The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics and the

2016 Rio Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

. She was also a board member of

UK Sport UK Sport is the government agency responsible for investing in Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United Kingdom. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. It was created ...

between 2010 and 2016, when Team GB broke its medal-winning records. She is currently a Director of the

Trust. McAllister was nominated by the Football Association of Wales for election as

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

's female member of the

FIFA Council The FIFA Council (formerly the FIFA Executive Committee) is an institution of FIFA (the governing body of association football, futsal and beach football). It is the main decision-making body of the organization in the intervals of FIFA Congress. ...

but was controversially prevented from standing. She is currently Deputy Chair of the UEFA Women's Football Committee (2017–) and Chair of the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. McAllister is contesting the election for the female representative from UEFA on FIFA Council (April 2021).

Politics and media

McAllister was a

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

Parliamentary candidate in 1987 and 1992 but left the party shortly afterwards. She is currently a political commentator for the BBC and other media platforms. She commentates regularly on international, network and Welsh media on Welsh politics, elections and public policy. McAllister writes a regular column on current affairs, sport and politics in the ''Western Mail'' newspaper and for

Wales Online Media Wales Ltd. is a publishing company based in Cardiff, Wales. As of 2009 it was owned by Reach plc (formerly known as the Trinity Mirror Group). It was previously known as the Western Mail & Echo Ltd. History The ''Western Mail'' was fo ...

. On 10 February 2022, McAllister was a panellist for BBC's ''

Question Time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

''. McAllister was the only Welsh woman to be included in the BBC's 100 Women List 2022, alongside

Priyanka Chopra Jonas Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awa ...

, Geraldina Guerra Garcés,

Selma Blair Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...

and 96 others.

Visit to Qatar

While following Wales to the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wor ...

, McAllister was prevented from entering the stadium ahead of the opening game with a bucket hat which had a

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

on it. FIFA officials told her that the hat was a "restricted item" and attempted to confiscate it from her. The attempts to separate McAllister from her bucket hat seemed to relate to a crackdown in Qatar on items that had a rainbow on them and affected numerous other fans, including U.S. former ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' journalist Grant Wahl, who was arrested over a t-shirt, as well as a reporter for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' who attempted to report on that incident only to become caught up in the crackdown himself.

Private life

McAllister and her partner Llinos Jones have two children.

References

External links

*
Meeting Laura McAllister – the most influential woman in Welsh sport
at nation.cymru, published 23 December 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:McAllister, Laura Living people Welsh women's footballers Wales women's international footballers Cardiff City Ladies F.C. players FA Women's National League players Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. players 1964 births Footballers from Bridgend Welsh nationalists Alumni of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Liverpool Plaid Cymru politicians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Women's association football defenders LGBT academics British LGBT sportspeople BBC 100 Women Welsh women academics