Ahead of last week’s open-top bus victory parade through London to celebrate the Lionesses’ Euro 2025 win, the team’s goalkeeper, Hannah Hampton, told Grazia the team were worried not many people would turn up. ‘We said, “what if only 100 people are there?”
Their fears were unfounded. Over 65,000 fans turned out to celebrate the team’s historic win against Spain, with some camping out overnight (royal wedding style) along the parade route, which ended in front of Buckingham Palace. ‘The morning of the parade we were anxious to see whether people would actually show up to celebrate a women’s team, but when our coach drove into London we could see and hear the crowds. It was unreal, and a lovely moment to share with everybody back home who had been supporting us,' says Hannah.
With her calm playing style and razor sharp saves, 24-year-old Hampton was one of the stars of the tournament, despite losing her grandfather just two days before the tournament began.
When I ask her what the pressure was like, she says: ‘We didn’t follow the news about us because we didn’t want the distraction. As a team, we tried to play with a smile rather than getting stressed and we wanted the games to be enjoyable. I didn’t really feel any pressure and if there was any, I used it as motivation to get me through the games.’ Even during the penalties? ‘It’s better to feel calm in those moments,’ she tells me. ‘And it was my way of being there for the team, who have been running around the pitch while I’ve stood in my 18-yard box. Saving penalties was my way of saying thank you to them.’
When I tell her footage of the team post-tournament reminds me of a rowdy school trip she laughs and says, ‘The tournament felt like a summer camp. We’re all very close and made sure everybody was included. If somebody didn’t have their family out there [in Switzerland, where the Euros took place], they would immediately be adopted by another family. We felt like one big family, and it was a lovely tournament to be involved in.’
This is all the more remarkable given that Hampton was born with an eye condition called strabismus, or eye misalignment, that affected her vision and resulted in three eye operations before the age of three. Despite this, Hampton, who was born in Birmingham but lived in Spain between the ages of five and ten due to her parent’s teaching job at an international school, was scouted at the age of five by a Spanish player.
‘I was at a local school in Spain and some of the professional players sent their kids there,’ she says. ‘Like most footballers, I started by playing in the playground. One day, one of the players came over to me and said I should trial for his club, Villarreal. I went along for my trial dressed head to toe in my West Brom kit, which made my dad very happy, and that was it. I was off and playing from a young age.’
She was the only girl in the football academy and at matches would regularly hear parents and players speaking in Spanish (which Hampton is fluent in) saying, ‘Ah, look, there’s a girl,’ and laughing among themselves. ‘They weren’t laughing by the end of the game though, when I ran rings around their sons and put the ball in the back of the net a couple of times. Back then, to now, I’ve wanted to prove to people that women can play sport and to a high level.’
At 12, she was told by her doctor that her eye condition meant she also had issues with depth perception – which makes her performance this summer even more remarkable – and that she would never play football, let alone professionally. Despite this, she continued doing just that and aged 12 joined Stoke City’s Centre of Excellence, initially playing as a striker before moving into goalkeeping. She played for Birmingham City and Aston Villa, before moving to Chelsea in 2023.
What would she tell that 12-year-old girl? ‘How proud I am of her for not letting people tell her what she could and couldn’t be. I didn’t let anybody – even a doctor – wipe the smile off my face when I was playing football. I loved it, it made me happy, and I was going to keep playing. I would tell her that if you have a dream and somebody says it won’t happen, you can still try to go out and achieve it. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.’
She says one of her proudest moments this summer wasn’t winning the tournament, nor the parade, or the Lionesses visiting 10 Downing Street, but looking up into the stands moments after Chloe Kellyscored the winning penalty and seeing her parent’s faces. ‘They’ve spent the last 20 years driving me up and down motorways to matches and supporting me, so to look up and see Mum crying her eyes out, and seeing them both so happy, made me happy. I’ve always wanted to make my family proud.’
She also feels pride at what the Lionesses have achieved – yet again – for women’s football. ‘The second Euro win has been etched into the legacy of the woman’s game. The Lionesses glued the nation together this summer and gave them something to cheer about. Women’s sport is in a very good place right now. Don’t get me wrong, there are always things that need to be improved, and things we can push for. But we want our legacy to be known for providing change for the next generation. It will take time, but we won’t stop until we achieve it.’
Thinking of that determined 12-year-old Hannah Hampton in her doctor’s office, I believe her.