More About Leah Williamson OBE

It appears that football runs in Leah Williamson’s blood. Her brother and father are fans of Tottenham Hotspur, while she, her mother, and grandmother are fans of Arsenal. Her mother even played football when she was younger, cutting her hair short so that they would allow her to play with the boys.

In 2006, she appeared as a mascot for the Arsenal men’s team – forgetting the fact that they were 430 miles away at the time, Leah’s mother drover her to ensure her dream was fulfilled. She would also go on to be a mascot in 2007 for the Lionesses.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – CLUB FOOTBALL

Leah’s first foray into playing football was when she was just six years old, joining Rushden & Diamonds Centre of Excellence. When she was nine, she had a trial for Arsenal and moved across.

She played for Arsenal’s youth team until 2013, moving to the senior team the following year. She made her FA Women’s Super League debut in 2014, and scored her first professional goal in the League Cup that July. In 2016, Leah helped the team win the FA Cup 2016 final against Chelsea.

Leah has won a number of club titles, including the England Women’s Youth Player of the Year 2024, the FA WSL Continental Cup Player of the Year 2014, PFA Young Women’s Player of the Year 2015, and was voted to the PFA Team of the Year 2019-20.

With Arsenal, she won the WSL in 2018-19, the FA Women’s Cup in 2013-14, and 2015-16, and the FA WSL Cup 2015, and 2017-18.

As of June 2024, Leah continues to play for Arsenal’s senior squad.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL

Leah has represented England since 2010, making her way from the Under-15s side all the way to the Captain the senior squad.

She captained the U17 side in the 2014 UEFA Championships, and was then part of the U20 team who competed in the 2014 FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup.

She made her senior debut in 2017, and made her debut in the 2019 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Russia. She was part of the team who won the 2019 SheBelievesCup, followed by the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, and the 2023 Women’s Finalissima. She was made temporary captain in September 2021, before being made permanent captain in April 2022. Sadly, due to injury, she missed out on the 2023 World Cup.

Leah has also represented team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – WRITING

Alongside her sporting career, Leah is a bestselling author. She has published a successful children’s series, known as The Wonder Team:

– The Wonder Team and the Forgotten Footballers (2023), which made it to the Amazon bestseller lists of “Time Travel Fiction for Children”, and “Modern & Contemporary Historical Fiction for Children”

– The Wonder Team and the Pharoah’s Fortune (2024), which made it onto the Amazon’s bestsellers list once more.

The third in the series, The Wonder Team and the Rainforest Rescue, is due to be released in August 2024.

In 2023, she published You Have the Power: Find Your Strength and Believe You Can, a positive guide to help empower young girls in and outside of sport. Once again, she would find herself on the bestsellers lists, specifically “Children’s Books on Values”.

She has also been a special guest editor of The Beano magazine, celebrating 70 years since Minnie the Minx’s first appearance.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – MEDIA

When she isn’t on the pitch, Leah has appeared on our television screens on popular programmes such as The Women’s Football Show (2016-17), The Graham Norton Show (2022), The One Show (2023), Football Focus (2023), and CBeebies Bedtime Story (2023).

She is a popular figure online, and has over 1.5 million followers across social media platforms, which she uses to show her footballing progression and to inspire young girls into sport.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – CHARITY AWARENESS

Leah frequently uses her platform to draw attention to charities and social justice topics.

Being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Leah wore a Stonewall rainbow armband throughout the 2022 Euros. She is also an ambassador for the Willow Foundation, a charity established to make memories for seriously ill people.

The England team, including Leah, wrote a letter the day after their Euro triumph to the then-Tory candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, requesting that girls receive at least two hours a week of PE Lessons, and to support girls’ football sessions. In 2023, she visited the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world, in Jordan, in support of the Coaching for Life programme.

Leah has endometriosis, which makes her anxious to play football while she’s menstruating, and she has spoken many times about it in order to increase awareness of the condition, and the need for more treatments.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – CORPORATE

Since the Euro 2022 win, Leah is now a very popular figure in the corporate world, and has worked alongside brands including Cadbury’s, Doritos, Gucci, Mastercard, Nike, Pepsi, Swarovski, and Vogue. She has also been an awards presenter at the 2022 National Television Awards. In May 2024, Leah addressed the Oxford Union where she discussed her career and the progress in women’s football, on both a club and international level.

LEAH WILLIAMSON – SPEAKING TOPICS

– Overcoming Adversity

– Performing Under Pressure

– Resilience

– Female Inspiration

– Maximising Success

– Women’s Football

– Peak Performance

– Leadership

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