01 September 2023 , 09:58
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Fara Williams will be hoping to strike again with her mystic meg-like predictions in the Women’s game - after the former Lionesses star correctly guessed several World Cup results.
Williams, who delighted fans during his role as a BBC pundit for the recent World Cup, predicted that England would beat Australia 3-1 in the semi-final; a result she got spot on. That came after she had a string of correct guesses on scorelines since the Euros were played in England last summer.
And now the 39-year-old, the most capped England player of all time, told Mirror Football her projection for the domestic season. She said: “I think it will be more difficult to do what they [ Manchester United ] did last year for sure.
“I think Arsenal want to push on and be better than they were - we’ve seen the signings Arsenal have bought in this year, they've tightened up defensively after losing Rafaelle [Souzar] so I think they will be up there.
“ Manchester City?” She paused before continuing: “They’ll hope to get themselves back amongst it and we know Chelsea is always dominant. So, I think it will certainly be a lot more difficult for them [United] to get into that top two but who knows? They’ve lost some big players but they’ve kept a good remainder of their squad.
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“I'm excited, I hope it's going to be more competitive like last season we’re seeing Manchester United and Liverpool try to get a Japanese player, and Mary Earps another team in the WSL trying to get her - it will be interesting if she decides to stay at United.
“I think it will be another exciting season, probably one that Chelsea won’t run away with the title again like last season. It's probably going to be a lot harder and will go down to the wire again.”
Talks of the Women’s Super League and its booming popularity follow the two insurmountably successful summers the England Women’s team have had. From European Champions to World Cup finalists, and capturing the heart of the nation in between.
Fara Williams of Reading Women scoring the opening goal versus Liverpool in 2019 (Andre Powell)But Williams, a stalwart in international set-up from 2001 to 2019, believes more development is required to support players of today’s game and she’s starting with nutrition, after a pre-existing medical condition somewhat forced her hand into retirement: “It's probably something that during my career, that I was passionate about, purely because I felt that the way that people spoke about nutrition was one type of diet fits all and I’m totally against that.
“I felt like every individual should be treated differently than what they fill themselves with in order to perform at their best and this is something that M&S are keen to do, to continue to share that not one diet suits all body types.
“It was something that when I was playing, I was frustrated with because at times we weren't able to perform our best because I was probably under-fuelled because of the wrong nutrition advice at the time.”
The former Reading midfielder, who also had spells at Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Charlton Athletic and Chelsea, has teamed up with M&S’ Eat Well Play Well scheme. She said: “They’re bridging the gap between general society and elite sport in terms of the understanding of it. I think there's so much c*** that goes on to social media like the sugar and stuff that kids see on their phone and want mom and dad to buy - making really bad choices. And seeing adverts encouraging kids to eat c*** food doesn't work for me.
“I know football is so big, world-wide and I think it's a smart move,” to put football and nutritional education hand-in-hand. She continued: “With M&S and the flower you can see it - it's there. It's been tested and we know there's more to go into that, someone will pick up one of those products that has an eat-well flower you’re more than likely making a healthier choice.
“The fact that M&S are partnering up with elite football - we know how big football is and what footballers do, young people tend to follow. So I think it's important that if they’re sharing good habits and good advice then the general population will follow that.”
This calls for further resources to actually be available for the women’s players, particularly as the ever-growing demands fall on the shoulders of younger footballers as idols.
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Williams reflected: “There wasn't a diet or nutritionist [at club level] there was not that education around day-to-day stuff. You’d probably get a diet and nutritionist come in at the early start of the pre-season to try and educate you a little bit but, a one-off session is not going to enable you to form good habits.
“I think only now clubs are starting to put it in. I do some work with Jonas Eidevall, the Arsenal coach, and they’re only now bringing a nutritionist in this year - and they’re probably the leading female team
Young football fans show their support during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Final (Patricia Perez)“The elite end in terms of international? I think it’s in a much better place but I still think, even there the sessions done from M&S and their partnership - they’ve gone in and there are still elite players in England that are underfilled going into games.
“I see it as a problem, I’m hoping that this partnership now with M&S and the education that comes with that will really help the girls because they are role models at the end of the day they’re massive now in terms of winning the Euros and World Cup finalists - young girls ARE looking up to them and what we don't want is eating disorders in the game.
“So the better educated they are the better messages they then leave to inspire the next generation. It can't just be on the pitch it has to be the whole piece that comes with being an international athlete and nutrition is part of that.”
“I don't think it just applies to the everyday female who's struggling with trying to fit into a certain body image. I think the elite end of the game does that as well. Especially now that it's more broadcasted, I think they’re trying to look a certain way.
“I still think that the educational piece around it’s okay to be muscular woman, it's okay for your body type to be a little bigger than the average or what you’re supposed to look like and I think each individual has to be managed and spoken to about what is best for their body and what they need in order to perform because at the end of the day it is about performance levels not how you look, and sometimes image overrides the level of performance.
“I had two pieces of brown toast, scrambled egg, baked beans and nearly half a tub of Tabasco sauce, that was my go-to pre-game” she retorted laughing. “Some protein and a bit of spice to spice it up on the pitch,” she said, half in jest, “So I think I was doing alright,” added Williams, still laughing.
Through the M&S Eat Well health seal of approval and its partnership with the FAs, M&S Food aims to make families healthier for the next generation. It links the eating habits of much-loved footballing heroes to how they play, promoting positive healthy eating messages for kids in a way that’s engaging, relatable and drives change. The Eat Well flower is only given to products meeting evidence-based nutritional criteria, developed by our nutritionists in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation.