Neil Shaka Hislop is a current on-air talent, soccer analyst and commentator for ESPN Inc. Shaka is a Howard University alum, having graduated cum laude in 1992 with a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering He then earned his second degree from HU in 2014 with an Executive MBA. In between earning Howard degrees Shaka played soccer professionally for 15 years, 14 of which were spent playing in England and 1 in the US’s Major League Soccer.
Shaka also represented Trinidad and Tobago at international level throughout his career, including the country’s solitary FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006. In 2005 Shaka was the recipient of the English Professional Footballers Association’s ‘Special Merit Award’ for his services to the game of football, becoming a member of their Honor Roll, joining Brazilian soccer legend Pele as the only other non-British member. Shaka is a founding member, patron and Honorary President of anti-racism organization ‘Show Racism the Red Card’. He is a recipient of the Trinidad and Tobago ‘Chaconia Medal’, the country’s second highest award, for his services to sport. In 2007, he received the ‘Alexander B. Chapman Award’ from the T&T Olympic Committee for outstanding contribution to sport and the promotion of the Olympic ideals. Shaka has also been inducted into the Howard University’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Sports Hall of Fame. Shaka currently sits on the Football Advisory Panel to the International Football Advisory Board.
