Sports couples: 5 sportsmen and women who are married to each other

Sports personalities are among the most celebrated people in the world due to the exposure that comes with their line of work.

Whether it’s football, boxing or table tennis, excellence in any sporting discipline ensures that one garners a wide following.

But while their celebrity statuses are all but guaranteed, it is not too common to find sportsmen and women getting married to each other, as is the case in the entertainment industry.

Some get into relationships but they often end up going their separate ways before the wedding bells ring. However, a few of them have managed to grow their love and even get married.

Below are five sportsmen and women who are married to each other:

David Accam and Florence Dadson

In 2019, David Accam, who played for the Black Stars, got married to Florence Dadson, a former Black Queens player.

Both strikers held a colourful wedding ceremony in Cape Coast, which was attended by other footballers in the country.

Accam was capped 11 times by Ghana from 2014 to 2017, while Florence also played for Ghana at U17 and U20 levels as well as the Black Queens, although she retired very early.

Nana Ama Asantewaa and Kofi Poku

In July 2024, it was a football affair when Black Queens goalkeeper Nana Ama Asantewaa tied the knot with Ghanaian coach Kofi Poku.

Asantewaa currently plays for Ghana Women’s Premier League side Police Ladies, while her husband is part of the technical team of Division Two side Accra Shooting Stars.

Asantewaa was a regular for Ghana’s women’s national team a few years ago and was part of the Black Queens squad for the 2016 and 2018 WAFCON tournaments. Her partner, Kofi Poku, has also worked in various capacities, including being a technical team member of the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec

Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec became a married couple in 2009 after dating for close to a decade. While Federer’s career is well documented, Mirka also enjoyed a great tennis career in the 1990s to the early 2000s.

Her career was, however, cut short by a foot injury in 2002. Two years earlier, she had met Federer and they dated for a while before having their wedding in 2009.

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe

United States (US) women’s football legend Megan Rapinoe is also engaged to former women’s basketball star Sue Bird.

The gay couple were one of the first to openly declare their same-sex relationship. They met at the Olympics in 2016 and started dating before getting engaged in 2019.

Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles

NFL star Jonathan Owens is married to multiple Olympic-winning gymnast Simone Biles. The couple got married in April 2023.

Simone and Jonathan started dating in 2020, with the former revealing that she instantly liked her husband the first time they met.