Manchester City and England football star Chloe Kelly: ‘A smile on your face goes a long way’

Chloe Kelly is the youngest of seven children, so she learnt competitiveness quickly. It was survival instinct. As the smallest, she had to fight harder than her siblings to win, and her scrappy tenacity has served her well on the football pitch.

The England and Manchester City star took on her five brothers – as her sister had little interest in football – and shone with a ball at her feet. It was her happy place. She learnt to play in the cages in Ealing, West London, and enjoyed shocking people with her talents as the only girl on boys’ teams. 

It has led her to where she is today, most famously scoring the winning goal for England in the UEFA Women’s Euro in 2022 as a substitute in extra time against Germany. That tournament changed the women’s game, and a generation of girls will grow up inspired by Kelly and her teammates.

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As she speaks to the Big Issue, the 26-year-old’s unwavering positivity shines through, but she has faced challenges too. She admits “cried everyday” when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but Kelly wants other young women to know that an injury does not have to be the end of their career. 

She’s had a difficult season at Manchester City, benched more than she would like, but she remains hopeful for her future in the game and dreams of “as much success as possible on the pitch”. Off the pitch, she wants to use her platform to pave the way for a better future for women’s sport.

We speak to Chloe Kelly about all of this and more, starting with that iconic Euros celebration…

BIG ISSUE: Your winning goal at the Women’s Euros has been chosen as one of National Lottery’s 30 Game Changing Moments – and it was iconic. What was scoring that goal like?

CHLOE KELLY: It was an incredible moment, a celebration of so much more than just a goal. It was amazing how impactful it was for so many women. I was out for 11 months with an ACL injury, so it was a celebration of being back. It was a celebration of: ‘We did it. We’ve won at Wembley against Germany to win the Euros. This is what dreams are made of.’

I was back in the cages where I learnt my trade. I think that young girl inside of me was celebrating that moment. This is what we have worked my whole life for: to live this moment. And having all my family there at that moment with me was amazing. To be surrounded by so many powerful women on my team, and to be part of a special group was really inspiring to me. These are people who inspire me to be better every day.

When you took your shirt off in celebration, it felt like a moment of empowerment. Was it that for you or just total happiness?

To be honest, it was just happiness. I celebrated that moment as it was a goal, like a man would celebrate a goal. Yeah, I did take my shirt off and I felt very powerful in that moment. And I think for many women, it’s about embracing your body, embracing the journey that we’re on together, and it’s really important that we use our voice in society to make change. We are powerful and we can do great things together.

Take us back to being that young girl playing football in the cages. What did football mean to you growing up? 

It was everything – from when I could walk, I had the ball at my feet, and I just loved the game. I always had a smile on my face playing. I was very competitive, as I am now – a bad loser. I just love winning. But I think it’s really important that I’m still that young girl with a big dream of success. The success of the Euros made me even more hungry for more success. I think that young girl is still inside me with that fire in my belly to do well in this game and to leave the shirt in a better place for future generations.

You’re one of seven siblings, did that add to a sense of tenacity and scrappiness?

I’ve got five older brothers and an older sister. I think my family always drives me to be better every day, but also to beat all my siblings. So that’s where I got my winning mentality from. For sure, I’m a bad loser.

I always wanted to be the best, and that’s still within my mindset now, wanting to be the best version of myself every day. I’m very competitive with the boys. My sister didn’t really like football, so I was always wanting to play with my brothers and their friends. I had to be at a level to do so. I was always fighting to be better every day and show what I was capable of.

As a girl playing football, did you ever feel out of place?

The environment where I felt most comfortable was of course in the cages where I grew up. I was the only girl in there, so of course I felt a little bit out of place, but I felt really included in that environment. And if someone told me I couldn’t, I’d step up and show them that I can. That was always my mindset.

I remember playing for my football team in primary school, playing for the boys’ team, and whenever we got to a game, everyone would be like: ‘They’ve got a girl on their team.’ So when you pick up player of the tournament, you’ve always got a little grin on your face, because at the start of the tournament, maybe you were doubted, but my family always believed in me, and my brothers always believed in me. Yeah I was a girl, but I had the ability to do well. That belief in myself came from my family.

For a lot of girls, getting into sport can be really difficult. PE lessons can be uncomfortable. Is that ever something you experienced? 

Actually, no. The start that I got was great. But that’s speaking for myself and not many other girls. There’s so many other girls that haven’t got that opportunity to have the access that I was given. It’s really important that we use our voice to make change in society for young girls coming through and having those equal opportunities.

Every woman – not just in football or sport – has had to break down barriers to get to where they want to be. Sometimes them barriers are harder to break than others, but it’s about breaking them barriers together – in sport but in so much more in society. We as females can achieve great things when given the opportunity to do so and given the platform to do so. Using our platform in sport, we can make change in so much more than just sport. 

What would you say to girls who aren’t feeling confident in themselves? 

For me, stepping out every day is a chance to improve. That’s what I do every day. I step on the training pitch to improve. I don’t really care what people think about me. I know everyday I try to be the best version of myself and I’m happy. Opinions of others don’t matter to me if I’m happy and I know I’ve given everything I can to be the best version of myself and be a good person. I think it says a lot about other people, rather than yourself. 

I think it’s embracing who we are and where we come from. Sometimes there’s a lot of negativity going around, and I think we can really be positive and make change – being positive people and telling people they look good and telling people they are great. We can make change. A smile on your face goes a long way. I think being a good person starts from within. I hold myself accountable to that, and everyone else can do the same.

You can see how confident and safe you are on the football pitch, but you’ve spoken before about how nervous you were on your wedding day by comparison. Was it about being centre of attention?

Ugh I hate it! I always said to Scott before we got married, before we got engaged, that I never wanted to be proposed to in front of anyone. I don’t like people looking at me, and that’s just because when I’m on the pitch, I know I’m doing is I’ve trained every day for that, but yeah, on my wedding day, walking down the aisle, that was more nerve wracking than any football game, because it’s something hopefully I’m never gonna do again, and I’ve never done before. That was nerve-wracking because I trained every day to play football. That’s my bread and butter. I don’t really feel nerves on the pitch.

What about being on red carpets or modelling shoots, do you get nervous then?

Oh I don’t feel nervous then. I’m very grateful for the opportunities. I think we’re in a place now where the game is, where we’re fortunate enough to be at these events and enjoying the lifestyle that we’re given. So I think embrace every moment, because this is what we fought for – to be heard, to be playing in front of so many, but the red carpets are amazing to be able to show off more personality. Fashion is really important to me. On the pitch, everyone’s in the same kit, you’re in the team, but on the red carpet, I can show some personality and really embrace that. 

I wanted to come back to ACL injuries you mentioned earlier. What have your experiences been like with them?

It’s negative in our game, but I think the noise around ACL sometimes can set a player on the back foot when going through that injury. For me, that definitely that was the case. And one of my good friends, Elise [Hughes], who plays for Wales and Crystal Palace, I remember texting her as soon as she did hers, and speaking to her throughout her journey. 

I spoke to her the other day, because I said to her at the start: ‘It’s not as bad as everyone makes out to be. It’s just another injury. It’s just like any other injury. It’s your mindset that sets you back, and you need to have the mindset to come back the best you can possibly be.’

Of course, it is something we need to look into in terms of making them happen less frequently, because ultimately, you want the best players on the pitch at all times. It’s really important that we look into making that change. But I think the negativity around it does affect you.

It’s important that we can change the narrative, because as footballers, we’re going to suffer injuries. That’s the game that we choose to play. Of course, no one likes it, and no one wants to go through that. But I think if we can change the narrative, we can make a big difference in someone’s journey.

Were there ever times when you felt yourself get into a negative space during those injuries?

Oh definitely. I cried most days, but I had people around me to get me through them tough moments. And it’s about speaking up when you are feeling a little bit low and I think it’s really important that we do talk about that because it’s normal to feel like that with any injury. You miss a lot of football, which you love doing, and you’re away from your teammates a lot of the time, and this is a lonely place, but every injury is and it’s about surrounding yourself with good people who make you happy. And my dogs do that for me too.

What are your hopes for your future in football?

As much success as possible on the pitch. I want to win so much in my career, whether that be Euros, World Cups, Champions League, WSL [Women’s Super League] titles. I’m really hungry for success on the pitch. Off the pitch, making a difference to many girls’ futures and using my voice to leave the sport in the best place possible. 

Are you looking forward to the Euros? 

It’s a long way away. We’ve got a whole season ahead of us still. In terms of preparation, it’s very exciting for everyone involved with a tournament coming up to the summer, but I think it’s working every day to put myself in the best place possible for the summer. Every day has to be a journey to get there, being in the best place possible and staying fit and healthy till then.

Beyond football, what are your hopes for the future?

Happiness is really important to me, spending time with my family, of course. I think I want to leave the game in the best place possible for future generations. I want to stay within the sport, but I think that’s so far away. I really enjoy playing, and I want to win so many more trophies in my career, but I think for the future happiness is the most important thing to me.

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