In the global sports business, where billion-dollar deals, celebrity athletes and multinational brands intersect, a 26-year-old Kenyan is quietly carving out her space.
From a childhood spent playing tennis and other sports in Nairobi to working with some of the biggest names in international football and athletics, Ella Ireri is part of a new generation of Africans shaping the commercial side of sport.
Through her role at a major sports agency in London and her own initiative, she is also trying to open doors for young people who want to enter an industry that often feels distant and inaccessible.
How did your background position you where you are now?
I grew up playing football, netball, rounders, swimming, athletics, but tennis was number one. My parents were always like putting me into different sports and coming to my competitions. We also grew up watching sports.
When I realised I wouldn't be able to become a professional tennis player in Year 11 during my IGCSEs, that's when I pivoted. I still wasn't necessarily sure if it would be to sports management or sports events, or sports science.
What helped you make that decision?
I schooled at Brookhouse, Karen Campus. When you get into year 12, the A-levels, they set up career fairs where different universities from the UK come and give talks on courses.
So, one of my main subjects was sports management, and I had a great teacher, Miss Curley. That's how I learnt about Loughborough University (in Loughborough town, located north of the city of Leicester), which is where I went to. In Europe and especially in the UK, it's the number one school for sports.
What qualifications made you stand out?
The main one was showing what I was doing outside of just studying; what have you done to show you have skills of communication, teamwork and leadership? For me, it was playing sports in high school, being captain of a few teams in sports like tennis or swimming.
Secondly, I was doing a lot within the African sports space in very small ways. I volunteered for a while with Douglas Wakihuri, the famous long distance marathon runner.
I was also doing a lot of volunteer work at different clubs and local schools in Kenya, going to charity homes and donating sports equipment. But, of course, getting good grades was a big part of it.
So, when you get there (Loughborough) in 2018, what was the most startling thing for you?
The biggest shock for me, coming from high school where you're so grounded, it's very strict, and you wake up at 6.30am, was just how much freedom there was. But there was also the culture shock.
Going from Nairobi – a very vibrant, multicultural city, where all my family is – to Loughborough, which is a small town and not very diverse. In Nairobi, I barely walk, but here walking is the way you get from point A to point B. Also, I didn't really cook that much before I came to university, and the food is different.
How long did it take you to fit in?
The first six months were just for finding my footing. I found an East African society, and it's the first place where I met so many different Kenyans, Ugandans, Tanzanians, and others.
Then in my second year, there was an influx of Kenyans joining Loughborough. I felt more at home. But I also played quite a few sports, which was another way to meet other people.
How was the internship for you, and is that when Bridged came to you?
My first proper internship was with a sports agency called Wasserman from 2020 to 2021. It was supposed to be a yearlong in-person thing, but because of Covid-19, it was eight months and mainly online.
Wasserman has different companies and brands as clients, and we help them activate their sports partnerships. One of the projects I worked on was American Express at the Wimbledon championship.
It was a lot of strategy work, helping the brands think about how they could reshape their ideas to still keep their fans engaged online.
After Covid restrictions were lifted, I got the chance to work at NFL games in London. The league usually hosts two to four games at Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Wasserman manages much of the media and fan activations.
Ella Ireri (left) with a Ruben Loftus, who plays for AC Milan football club, during the NFL game in London. Loftus is a client of the Creative Artists Agency.
Photo credit: Pool
One of my roles involved working in the VIP suites, where we hosted guests. We made sure everything was set up properly — from the décor and music to the food and overall experience — so guests could enjoy themselves.
After that, we also got to watch the games. It was a fascinating experience, especially because American football is different from sports like football or tennis common in Europe.
When I graduated in 2022, I started my first job two months later at a company called Oakview Group. They're an American agency, like Wasserman, that started operations in the UK.
I'm very lucky in that my mom was born in the UK, so I was able to get a UK passport/ citizenship, which means I didn't go through the (work) visa process like others have had to.
My inbox was filled with so many people asking how I got into the sports industry, where they can look for jobs, and for advice.
I tried responding to as many people as I could, but at some point it was just too much: clearly, there was an information gap. It was hard coming up with Bridged: Will I even have the time for this? I was lucky I had a manager who was great and supported me. I eventually started Bridged in 2023.
Our mission is to inspire and empower individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in the sports and entertainment industry.
And how did you put the resources together to start this?
A big part of Bridged in the early days was writing up articles for different people in the industry: what jobs they do, how did they got into the industry, what advice they have for young people, and if they were happy to be connected to these young people and mentor them.
What the mentors brought, which was even more valuable, was that they could speak on their own experiences.
In terms of resources, people would volunteer to come in and help. That's how I got the social media, editing and writing support. For them, it looked good on their CVs that they were getting this experience, while they also got mentorship from my mentors as well.
Are you still working and running Bridged?
Yes, but now I work at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). They represent athletes and retired players, doing all their commercial off pitch representation.
My job is in athlete marketing or sports talent marketing in CAA’s sports department. We help build brand portfolio and brand strategy for mainly football players, Formula One drivers, and athletes.
So if a player wants to work with a fashion brand, we help put that together and bring it to life through either a partnership, social media content or some PR work, or a billboard campaign.
For example, if you see Cole Palmer on a marketing billboard, eight out of nine times, my team has done that partnership and brought it to life.
