THE PLAYERS FUND RECRUITS JESSICA ENNIS-HILL

The Players Fund has announced its latest round of athlete investors, which includes Olympic gold medallist Dame Jessica-Ennis Hill.

The Players Fund is an investment group made up of current and former athletes which was founded earlier this year.

The £40m venture capital fund’s ambition has been described as ‘targeting a position in the densely populated arena of early-stage investments.’

England cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad were two of the most high-profile names in the group when it launched in August, as well as Jos Butler, KL Rahul, and former Premier League stars Chris Smalling, Serge Gnabry, and Hector Bellerin.

The Players Fund, which has yet to unveil its first investment, has now announced Ennis-Hill, alongside Women’s Super League players Danielle Carter, Eni Aluko and Nikita Parris as partners. American track and field athlete Allyson Felix has also joined the firm.

Ennis-Hill commented, “I’m honoured to join alongside these phenomenal women to drive The Players Fund’s mission of empowering athletes forward.”

“Together, we can spark real change in VC and beyond by backing founders of all backgrounds, and for me in particular female entrepreneurs where possible.”

Alongside their additional capital, the new cohort will support the fund’s goal of reaching out to female founders, who typically receive a significantly smaller percentage of VC funding.

Fergus Bell, Managing Partner of the Players Fund, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome these groundbreaking athletes to The Players Fund. Their expertise takes us one step closer to our goal of creating the foremost athlete investor network.”

“This remarkable group has the power to support founders and spark meaningful change in the athlete community and beyond.”