Captain of England’s women’s football team Leah Williamson sat down at the Oxford Union to discuss her career and the progress made with the Lionesses.
The Oxford Union has released a three-part series from her talk last month where she addressed numerous critical topics surrounding women’s football, including representation in the sport and research into injuries.
Ms Williamson led the country to victory in the UEFA European Championship in 2022, England’s first major trophy since the men’s side won the World Cup in 1966.
READ MORE: Famous Oxford pub to change hands as landlords leave for new venture
She also represented Great Britain at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.
Talking about the Euros win, Ms Williams said: “I honestly hope that the feeling I had that day I’ll hold on to forever.
"I knew the weight of what we had done.”
Interviewed by Union librarian Isabelle Horrocks-Taylors Williams, she added that the first thing she felt was “relief”.
“I think it is a little bit sad that we put so much pressure on ourselves to achieve something when there are so many things that go wrong,” she added.
The 27-year-old was sidelined from last year’s Women’s World Cup after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that meant she was away from the pitch from April 2023 until her return in January 2024.
Initial research has shown ACL injuries are two to six times more likely to occur in women than men, and about two-thirds of them happen in women’s football when there is no physical contact.
A three-year project was launched in April to investigate the concerning number of ACL injuries in women's football.
Players' union FIFPRO joined forces with the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), Nike and Leeds Beckett University to launch the project with the aim of "increasing player availability by reducing ACL injuries".
Nearly 30 players missed last year’s World cup due to ACL injuries.
Ms Williamson said: “That is a failure of sport in general because even when we started asking the questions originally there were no answers because there is no research on women.”
She hoped the work would help he “future of women’s football” but admitted she “will never see the benefits of it”.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift 'books £3.3m Oxfordshire cottage' for UK leg of tour
Ms Williamson was also asked about the Lionesses’ solidarity with Spain’s Jenni Hermoso following the Luis Rubiales World Cup kiss scandal.
She said: “Until the world changes, there will always be problems.
“The barriers we face in terms of sexism, misogyny in women’s football are reflective of issues that are in society.
“So I think this will be ongoing for a long time because I think this is a generational thing.”
On advocacy for women and girls in sport, she stated the world is “big enough” for “everyone to do what they want to do”.
She pointed to a possible lack of facilities and available sessions as a barrier for woman and girls to play football.
Still, she acknowledged the progression in schools since their Euros win.
The Lionesses’ captain revealed the team discuss their goals before each tournament and that legacy on improving the women’s game is always on the list.
She said: “Normally win comes up, obviously, but always legacy because as female footballers we have always had to fight for that.”
In her speech to the Union to the speech, Ms Williamson reflected on the current state of women’s football.
She said: "What I am most proud of in this time, specifically post-European Championship victory, is the change we have bled into society.
“The opportunities now afforded to women and girls that were standing in the shadows.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here