Former England WNT player Eniola Aluko has been made an MBE in King Charles' first Birthday Honours List.
One of the all-time top goalscorers in the WSL, the 36-year-old won three league titles with Chelsea between 2012 and 2018. She has also played in three World Cups, three European Championships, and an Olympic games.
Since her retirement in 2019 she has appeared widely as a pundit; she was also the first woman to appear as a pundit on BBC's Match of the Day show, in 2014.
Aluko is known for her charity work, especially with Saving Lives, Charity Water, Unicef, and Football Beyond Borders.
Aluko expressed her gratitude in a statement on Instagram, and dedicated the award to her mother, saying "My mum instilled aspiration, faith, hard work and the importance of giving, and best of all encouraged me to dream beyond limitation with my football. Everything that is recognised by this MBE, I owe to my mum, Sileola Aluko."
Also honoured with an MBE was trailblazing darts player Fallon Sherrock, who became the first woman to win a match at the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) World Championship in 2019, and the first woman to reach the quarter-finals of a major tournament in 2021.
March of this year she became the first woman to throw a nine-dart finish at a PDC event.
Sherrock described herself as "honoured and overwhelmed" in a statement and said, "I am looking forward to visiting Buckingham Palace to receive this honour, which I regard as a reflection of the enormous popularity of darts and as a symbol of hope and possibility for aspiring darts players and sportswomen across the country."
I am so happy to receive this honour. I really am shocked in an amazing way this evening ❤️ pic.twitter.com/euGYmWdU7b
— Fallon Sherrock MBE (@Fsherrock) June 16, 2023
Also recognised on the list were former England rugby captain Sarah Hunter, former England cricketer Lydia Greenway, and former UK Sport chief executive Liz Nicholl.
