Hope Powell

As a player, Hope Powell found success – after her debut at 16, the midfielder won 66 caps for England and won the women's FA cup three times – but as a coach, she has reached the top of her game, one that is not best known for its enlightened approach to women. She has been in charge of the English team since 1998, and in 2003 became the first woman anywhere to get the Uefa pro licence, the highest coaching qualification available. Powell, 44, has taken her team into the European Championship three times, and this summer will be the second time she has led them to the World Cup. In 2009, there were rumours she was to be appointed manager of Grimsby Town , where she would have become the first woman in charge of a men's club. Although it didn't happen, if any woman achieves that it is likely to be Powell – if the England women let her go.