Aoife Mannion

About Aoife Mannion

Aoife was born in Solihull and attended St Peter’s Catholic School, where she was a classmate of fellow footballer Jack Grealish. In 2006, she joined the Birmingham City Centre of Excellence, before moving to the Aston Villa Centre of Excellence where she was promoted to the first team in July 2012, making 21 appearances in all competitions. Aoife was part of the Aston Villa team that won the 2012–13 FA Women’s Premier League Cup, beating Leeds United on penalties in the final.

She signed for Birmingham City in August 2013 and played every minute of the 2014 and 2015 FA WSL seasons. Her performances led her to be shortlisted for the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year. In 2017, Aoife helped Birmingham reach the FA Cup final for the second time in their history. She was selected in back-to-back PFA Team of the Years for 2017–18 and 2018–19, before departing the club in 2019 to join Manchester City.

In 2019, Aoife suffered an ACL injury in a Champions League game against Atlético Madrid and was consequently out for 16 months. She left Manchester City at the end of the 2020–21 season, having made 11 appearances in all competitions. In July 2021, Aoife signed a two-year contract with Manchester United and quickly established herself as a key part of Marc Skinner’s team, making 19 appearances across all competitions until March 2022, when unfortunately Aoife suffered another ACL injury. She has worked tirelessly on her rehabilitation and it was seen in her return to the first team squad at the start of this new year.

Although Aoife was born in Birmingham, she always kept her Irish roots thanks to her mother being from Mayo and her dad being from Galway. She played for every England team since U15’s and even had the chance to play for the senior squad under previous manager Phil Neville in 2019, but that England cap never came to fruition. Despite nearly playing for the Three Lions team, Aoife insisted the only dream she had was representing Ireland at an international level. In 2023, that dream came true when she received her first Ireland call up.

Aoife is also an established public speaker, appearing on panels for the likes of Ofcom and Heineken, whilst working with a variety of brands including Visa, Amazfit Bip, and Fifpro.

Away from the pitch, Aoife enjoys following Formula 1, drinking good coffee with friends, going on adventures with her Goldendoodle, Noodle, or immersing herself in the world of VR.

Her favourite quote: ‘What stands in the way becomes the way’