I’ve always been a football fan, but by age thirteen I was infatuated with every aspect of the sport, and was soon playing, coaching, refereeing, and going to every match I could beg my dad to take me to. In high school, it hit me that football didn’t just have to be my passion, it could also be my career, and since then I’ve never looked back. I went on to study Science and Football at LJMU and had incredible opportunities whilst I was there, but by far the most life changing experience was my time on the FA x BUCS Women’s Leadership Programme. I’d been encouraged to apply by my tutor and was thrilled when I found out I got in, but little did I know how much the experience would change me.

Meeting a group of like-minded women with the same goals in life, as well as the incredible accelerators, changed my outlook on a career in sport, but also changed me as a person. Over the three residentials, I grew in confidence, practiced my networking skills, and pushed myself to grow and change. The programme made me more determined than ever to continue to pursue my dream job.

This started with me applying for an internship at a Premier League club which prior to the leadership programme I would’ve never had the self-belief to do. I soon started as a general sports science assistant within the boy’s academy, working with both the strength and conditioning and performance analysis teams. Within about a week of being there I was absolutely sure of one thing: I wanted to be a performance analyst.

However, the internship didn’t go to plan, with me breaking my ankle only four months in and having to step back from the role. This was a huge blow to my confidence, and I struggled with a lot of self-doubt, wondering whether I was cut out for a career in such an intense environment. Leaning on friends and mentors from the leadership programme I pushed forward, and I went on to do a master’s degree in Sports Coaching. I struggled post-grad to get my first break, applying for job after job, and I again began to wonder whether I was good enough to work in football. After some encouragement yet again by my mentor from the leadership programme, I applied to be a football tournament analyst at FIFA.

I thought there was no way I’d get the job but finally got the email to say I’d been successful. I’m only a few weeks into my time at FIFA, but I’ve met so many incredible colleagues, learnt so much, and I’m so excited to see where this journey takes me. Though I’ve had some major doubts about my capabilities throughout my journey in football, and struggled with my confidence, I finally feel as though I am getting somewhere. I also continue to think it is important to give back to the grassroots football community as I wouldn’t be where I am today without starting there, and so I am now in my sixth year of coaching girls’ teams at Prestwich FC. This allows me to continue my passion of developing the women’s game, alongside working my dream first job.