THE WOMEN’S GAME
OBVIOUSLY CONTINUES
TO COME ON LEAPS AND
BOUNDS. WHAT’S BEEN THE
BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE
NOTICED IN THIS SENSE AND
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED
ABOUT HAPPENING IN THE
FUTURE?
Since last year’s Olympic Games in
London, the biggest change that I’ve
noticed has been the coverage of
women’s football in terms of radio and
in particular television. It shows how
far the game has come and hopefully
that can continue with more and
more people being introduced to and
becoming familiar with the game.
WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD
BE DONE TO SPREAD THE
AWARENESS OF GIRL’S
FOOTBALL AND GET MORE
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BOTH
PLAYER AND COACHING
ROLES?
I think that we’re definitely heading
in the right direction. It’s important
that women’s football continues to
take advantage of the opportunities
that the media provide in terms of
coverage and hopefully that will mean
that more people are able to see what
the sport can provide. If this can be
achieved then I’m sure that will have
a positive influence in terms of more
people getting involved with women’s
football.
FOR GIRLS WHO ARE
PLAYING OR ARE LOOKING
TO GET INVOLVED WITH
FOOTBALL, THE COVERAGE
THAT WOMEN’S TEAMS GET
NOWADAYS MEANS THAT
THEY ARE ABLE TO LOOK UP
TO PLAYERS LIKE YOURSELF.
WHO DO YOU LOOK TO AS AN
INSPIRATION OR AN IDOL?
There were definitely less females
in the game that I could look up to
when I was younger, simply due to the
fact that the coverage just wasn’t as
widespread as it is nowadays, both on
television and in newspapers as well.
For me though, someone who I looked
to as an inspiration when growing
up around football in Scotland was
Julie Fleeting. As well as representing
Scotland, she’s obviously played in the
US and at Arsenal so she’s someone
that I’d say I looked up to. With the
coverage of women’s football being of
a higher standard these days, it’s great
that girls are able to look to current
players as inspiration and to see what
can be achieved by pursuing a career
in football.
AT ONLY TWENTY-THREE,
YOU’VE HAD A SUCCESSFUL
CAREER IN THE GAME SO FAR.
WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST
ACHIEVEMENT AND WHAT
ARE YOU MOST LOOKING
FORWARD TO FOR THE FUTURE
Being able to represent Great Britain
last year at the London Olympics
was a really special moment for me
and I’d rank that high in my list of
achievements. I’ve also now gained
at that age, you don’t really let the
pressure affect you so much.
DO YOU FEEL THAT GIRLS
FOOTBALL WOULD BENEFIT
IF THERE WAS A STRONG
NATIONWIDE LEAGUE
STRUCTURE LIKE WHAT IS
IN PLACE FOR BOYS? OR IS
IT BETTER TO HAVE THIS IN
PLACE AT AN OLDER AGE AND
HAVE THE GIRLS PLAYING
WITH BOYS TO BEGIN WITH?
Playing with the boys at a younger
age is definitely something that I
enjoyed and something that I would
encourage. I played in a mixed girls
and boys team until I was around
thirteen years old and I’d say that it
improved me as a player. Obviously
as you get older, the physical aspect
of the game becomes different
between male and female but I’d
encourage girls to ix with boys as
much as possible when playing, as
I think that it’s beneficial for player
development.
“It’s important to take advantage
of the opportunities that the media
provide in terms of coverage...”
over eighty-five caps for Scotland,
which is something I’m extremely
proud of and an honour each time so
I’m looking to continue with that.
YOU LEFT HIBS TO JOIN
ARSENAL IN 2008, WHEN YOU
WERE SEVENTEEN. WHAT WAS
IT LIKE MAKING THE BIG MOVE
DOWN TO LONDON AT THAT
AGE?
Looking back, it was big move careerwise but it’s not something I really
thought too much about. Especially
with being so young, the excitement
of going down to play at the best
ladies team in Britain was huge and
YOUR RECENT MOVE TO
SEATTLE REIGN SEES YOU
LINK UP WITH YOUR FORMER
ARSENAL BOSS LAURA
HARVEY. HOW INSTRUMENTAL
WAS THAT IN YOUR DECISION
TO MOVE TO THE STATES?
I’ve known Laura for quite a few
years now after working with her at
Arsenal. She showed an interest in
getting me out to the states and she
was aware that it’s something I’ve
thought about before. She knows
the way I play and I enjoy playing
under her, so I’m looking forward to
working with her again.
Issue # 1 | YFS Magazine | 41