Ashleigh Neville on International Women’s Day, women’s football, and family

Today we can celebrate that women’s sport, especially football, is going in the right direction. I think it’s also a day that we can look at things across the world and see how we can make changes to help improve that in other countries, not just our own.

You always want it to be safe and a kind place for your children to grow up in, which is sometimes out of our control, but I’ve got a boy and a girl so to be able to do whatever they want to do and not be judged by whether they’re a girl or a boy, just to be able to take part in, for example, gymnastics if you’re a boy or football if you’re a girl, there are things like that they can choose and not feel that they can’t do it because of their gender or feel that they’re judged because of their gender.

A long time ago, when I first started playing football, we were paying for our own kit and paying to play. Transport was normally parents, but coming up through the age groups it slowly got better. 

Now, we’re in a lucky place to be paid to be playing and having all those extras of kit being sorted, which helps. To be able to enjoy football and not worry about having a second job, because there was a time where I was playing and had a job alongside it, which takes away from the quality you can give - it’s come a long way, but we still know as women that we’ve got a long way to go, but it’s only going in the right direction.

My mum has helped me along my journey from when I first started, being on the sidelines week in, week out, and I’ve got two women at home with my wife Liz and the little one Remi, so they’re massively important to me. Remi likes to come onto the pitch and have a bit of a runaround, but she’s a big supporter. I’m not sure she understands just yet, but hopefully in the next few years she’ll be kicking a ball around herself.

Ash