Lioness legend Sue Smith signs up to The Mirror for Women's World Cup
Former Lioness Sue Smith will be writing a column for the Mirror throughout the Women’s World Cup.
With 93 England caps to her name and glittering playing career behind her, what started as a passion turned into a profession – just about.
But as the story of the women’s game comes into sharp focus this week, it’s perhaps worth reminding ourselves of the journey the game has been on.
Sue, 43, said: “I got into football because I was that annoying little sister who tagged along when her brother started playing – and doing the same.
“I was just in among all the lads, doing what we all loved at a club, Rainhill United on Merseyside, where there were teams running all the way up from the under-5s.
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“You could only play with boys for a certain length of time. I had to find a women’s team to – I could still train with my club – the nearest one I could play for was Tranmere.
England's heroic Lionesses in training in Australia ahead of World Cup (PA)“But that was 40 minutes’ away for me and without my dad driving me twice a week, none of this would have happened.”
Invited into the England squad at the age of 16, she made her debut one year later. “I was balancing jobs and studying at the time,” she said.
“Shortly afterwards, I moved to Leeds and that was semi-professional. I did a sports science degree alongside it.
“When I eventually got to play for Doncaster Belles and Lincoln, I was full-time. I saw it all the way through and when the central England contracts came through in 2009, that meant I was able to train - and live.”
Sue’s England career lasted 15 years. And the changes have been seismic.
When the forward started, England trips would comprise the players, a team manager, an assistant and a physio. “By the end, there were more support staff than there were in the squad,” said Sue.
“I’m not envious of that - it’s brilliant that the girls have that support.
“If I was low on confidence, I’d have to work it out myself or speak to one of the more experienced players. These days, they have a psychologist to hand. And the facilities at St George’s Park are unreal.
A runners-up medal at the European Championships in 2009, led to steady momentum that has snow-balled towards the improvements that have seen girls being able to view the game in this country as a profession.
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“I love this is where women’s football has gone,” she said, “I was at Wembley getting all emotional on that day against Germany last year when we won and thinking to myself: ‘This is what all of us ex-players really wanted.’”
“I just feel a bit sorry for the generation who went before me. They didn’t have anything. No support or opportunity to go into coaching, management or the media after playing.”
“But it did have its moments. There were a couple of times playing away from home when we slept in our clothes.
“I particularly remember a couple of games against Romania.
“We played over there and we were surrounded by kids. All the way through training, they were begging for snacks. We’d have a protein bar and shakes. We would just give them to these kids. We gave everything to them.
“It was an eye-opener - it may have been a play-off game - when they came here and the day before the game, their captain ran off. She defected. She wanted a new life here.
“We were doing our pre-match stuff, looking at how they play, how good they are - they were that desperate they wanted it was an eye-opener.”
“For instance, Karen Walker is a copper. Gill Coulthard worked outside the game - these are absolute legends and without them playing for the love of it, perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
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