There hasn’t always been a plethora of role models for young girls to look up to in football, something which Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion knows all too well.
Solihull-born Aoife is among the generation of players to have grown up without much representation of women’s football on the television, or a girls football club readily accessible. She therefore knows the impact that established footballers like herself can have across the country.
“To my knowledge, when I was maybe age five to 10, I didn’t know of any girls’ teams - the only way I knew to play football was to play in boys’ teams,” she told club media.