Twelve years ago striker Kelly Smith branded women’s football in England ‘a joke’. But now the national team is among the favourites for the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off in Germany on Sunday. Christina Savvas and Gemma Pass talk to the England stars who play for Birmingham City Ladies FC.
LAURA Bassett admits to living up to female stereotypes; shopping, the inability to pack light and a desire to look good – but that is all forgotten when the whistle blows.
“You always have personal pride but when the whistle blows and you are on that pitch, you are fully concentrated on the game.” says the 27-year-old, from Warwickshire.
“When you do any exercise you are going to sweat, you’re going to get mud on yourself when you make a tackle but as soon as the match is over you are like ‘oh no I look a right state, I need a shower’.
“But on the pitch you are there to do one thing only and that is win a game of football.”
The Birmingham Ladies captain has relished the opportunity to show off her skills in the FA Women’s Super League, the new semi-professional league, which impressive Birmingham are currently top of at the halfway stage.
For England, she will keep other midfielders on their toes as she is charged with being the squad’s chief quizmaster. Despite critics of the women’s game, Laura doesn’t feel she has encountered much antipathy.
Born in Nuneaton and raised an Aston Villa fan she grew up watching older brother Daniel, now a football coach in Nebraska, play football and then began playing herself in the school playground at the age of nine.
“I know many people say football isn’t easy for girls but I have had a really smooth ride. My brother and my parents supported him and I was always dragged along to games but my first experiences were in the playground with the lads at school.
“I was lucky enough at middle school that we had a girls’ team and got to play in one tournament each year.
“In the playground I was the only girl. At first the boys were like ‘are you sure you want to play?”
But it wasn’t long before they would fight over whose team she would play in.
Laura continued to play football after leaving school with Coventry City LFC as her first club. She spent seven years at Birmingham City Ladies, followed by spells at Arsenal LFC and Leeds Carnegie LFC before returning to the Blues. She is now on the FA Central contract, which pays around £16,000 a year.
“Women’s football in this country has taken huge strides so I have always kept my options open when it comes to a career.
“Compared to when I first became involved in football, it is much more readily available for women to earn as much money as they can. When I was growing up, there was no money in it. Now I am 27 and earning a living from playing football, which is absolutely fantastic.
“That is an opportunity we need to embrace, I don’t really think you can compare men and women’s football, Yes, of course we would love to be on the money the men are on, but they do attract up to 50,000 fans week in, week out.
“Unfortunately women’s football doesn’t do that, it’s all relative. I’m just grateful that I get paid to play and I think we need to keep out feet on the floor.”
This World Cup is Laura’s second major senior tournament after the disappointment of Euro 2009, when England were beaten by the old enemy, Germany, in the final. Like most of her teammates, she is wary of talking up England’s chances of success.
Insiders privately hope the team will at least make it through to the semi-final stage.
Laura is hoping to draw on the experience of senior players including roommate Rachel Yankee, arguably the most recognisable face in women’s football in the UK.
“We have experience within the squad with quite a few players with 50 caps and we need to draw on those experiences if we want to do well in this tournament.
“We have come a long way since the last World Cup. Recently we have picked up a couple of great results. We managed to beat the US and Sweden.”
But despite football being the main focus of her life, the Loughborough graduate enjoys life outside of the game.
“I like to see my boyfriend, my friends and relax, doing anything away from football. I love a good pamper session, it’s just so hard to fit it in.
"Same with shopping, we don’t get a chance to go often but then all of a sudden we’ll go on a binge shop spree, we just don’t get to do it every week like the Wags.
“Packing for Germany has been a problem, only being allowed 20 kilos. I’ve had to prioritise toiletries and football boots. I’m like any woman, I don’t pack light at all.”
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