Rachel Yankey OBE, the Arsenal and England legend who earned 129 caps – placing her among the top ten most-capped Lionesses – and represented her country at five major tournaments discusses the pressure that comes with wearing the shirt and the lasting responsibility today’s stars carry to inspire the next generation…
Being an England player – although my team never won anything – we always knew that every time we went out there and played, how we performed would influence how people perceived women’s football.
When the team of 2022 won it – especially with it being a home tournament at Wembley – it couldn’t have been a better place to really create a ‘wow’ moment.
It gave the next generation of women the power to stand up and say, ‘I can play football. I want to be like Ellen White, or Jill Scott, or now Alessia Russo and Beth Mead.’ And kids these days are actually able to name players. I didn’t know any female players when I was young.
On Thursday against Sweden in the quarter-final, that pressure is going to be at its highest. Equally, I think there’s always going to be pressure on those 23 players. We had pressure on us when there were no cameras and no one really cared that much.
Sometimes it can bring out the best in you, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. They certainly have the ability, and one thing that’s really positive – something I definitely knew from the teams I played in – is that while they still want to be the best footballers they can be and the best team they can be, there’s still a big responsibility to give back and show the game in a positive light to inspire the next generation.
Whilst players are still thinking like that, I think you’ll always get the best out of them. That’s why I am launching the Rachel Yankey Foundation, to create more opportunities and drive greater representation within women’s football.
In my squads, there were extremely talented players – I don’t want to do any of them a disservice by saying they weren’t some of the highest-quality footballers I’ve ever seen – they just didn’t have the support, education, backing and knowledge.
From things like sports science and education, to physios and doctors – they didn’t have the support staff around them; they weren’t professional. The ask of that generation was huge, because they were still playing and still working.
The ask of this generation is different, and that’s why there will be an expectation – because they are playing professionally, and with that comes pressure and a standard that you have to meet.
I suppose the good thing is that, with that support staff, there will be people looking at the mental side of things and supporting the players off the pitch to make sure they’re thriving and doing well, because going to a tournament can be difficult.
But to be honest, what you see from the outside compared to what the players feel and see is hard to explain. You’re in your own little bubble, and they probably don’t know a lot about what’s going on outside.
I remember us going out to the China World Cup in 2007, and we didn’t know a lot about what was happening anywhere else other than in our little hotel. I think there’s more talk about the pressure from outside than they actually hear themselves.
I’d love to see some of the younger players get more minutes. I remember when I was young and playing – we were a little bit more fearless. Maybe we didn’t get as nervous; maybe we just wanted to try different things. I think we should encourage players to try something and make a mistake.
When I’m coaching, I always encourage players to try something. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake – but if you don’t try it, you’ll never know if it works. I enjoy watching Aggie Beever-Jones – she’s scored some fantastic goals.
And Michelle Agyemang – it only took her under a minute to score on her debut against Belgium in April.
It’s definitely a tournament where I’ll be saying to the girls I coach, ‘Turn on the TV and watch these players. This girl’s only 19 – this is what can happen.’
