‘Sunday 31 July was the craziest day ever,’ recalls Ellie Roebuck, 22, an England women’s goalkeeper and rising football star. ‘The celebrations after were wild for a couple of days. I managed to get away for four days to switch off, just to come back down to earth before training starts again today.’
We’re speaking just nine days after the Lionesses' incredible win at the UEFA EURO, during a short break for the women who made history. Their next game will be for the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers on 3 September against Austria and the Women’s Super League starts on 10 September.
It’s a jam-packed season of tournaments then for someone like Ellie, who plays for Manchester City and England. Having missed much of the 21/22 season due to a calf injury, Ellie watched much of the EURO tournament from the bench – making her even more eager to perform now. As a starting line-up fixture for her club, being on the side-lines for her national team didn’t sit easy with her.
‘It is harder if you're not playing because you've not got that aim as such, you’re more preparing everyone else,’ she explains. ‘You just have to think about the end goal and enjoy it as much as possible.’
Of course, every player is important when it comes to a team winning overall. ‘We all have a part to play and we all know our roles,’ Ellie says. ‘That feeling of being valued no matter what your role is really helps, because it is a long time away from your family. The players around have to become family and you’re relying on your teammates to give you that support; if we didn’t create that environment it would make it a really long nine weeks.’
Ellie got into the sport young thanks to her family's love of football. ‘My dad is a huge Sheffield United fan so whether I liked it or not I was being dragged along to the games,’ she laughs. ‘That’s where it started, I began playing with the boys at school and kids on my estate. I joined the boys team they all played for and I had such good fun. You always get “Oh there’s a girl in goal” comments but I really liked that because I always had a point to prove.’
‘As female athletes and footballers in particular, you always have that point to prove,’ Ellie continues. ‘But that gives me the drive and determination to do well and prove people wrong. I’m glad I’ve got that, I don’t think I’ll ever lose it.’
It wasn’t long before she was signed to her first girls team at Sheffield United Centre of Excellence and at just 15, was scouted for Manchester City where she’s remained ever since. But even then Ellie wasn’t certain there was a professional career in her future – not because she wasn’t good enough, but because it didn’t exist for women then.
‘Even though it wasn’t super long ago, the opportunities then were so slim,’ Ellie remembers. ‘I always had in the back of my mind that I might have to do something else alongside it. So I went through school and did pretty well. But the minute I knew there was a glimpse of signing a professional contract, it was tunnel vision then – the only thing I wanted to do.’
It was only in 2018 that the Women’s Super League turned pro, allowing women a full-time career in football instead of expecting them to maintain other careers alongside winning tournaments. But that doesn’t mean we’ve achieved gender equality in football.
‘There’s still quite a big difference between certain teams within the league,’ Ellie explains. ‘So for example, the facilities that are on offer and the access to all the top things a professional footballer requires to maximize their potential. Hopefully the exposure off the back of this tournament will [change] that.’
‘Everybody is getting on board now. Whether that’s clubs [or] marketing teams, that’s what we really need to start pushing,’ she continues. ‘We want people to turn out to all our league games – we managed to fill Wembley so hopefully we can fill smaller stadiums for our club games, that would be massive. We’d really feel that support then, it would help grow the women’s game massively.’
Has Ellie already seen improvements in the days since the monumental Lioness win? ‘Well the television figures were huge, right? So that's a huge positive,’ she says. ‘But even just commercially, the opportunities the girls have got off the back of it and the amount we’ve been in the public eye, I’ve personally never been exposed to that before. Whether that's positive or negative, we are in the public eye more now so we’re very conscious of setting good examples and trying to be role models for young kids.’
And what about Ellie’s hope for her own future? ‘Looking ahead to the World Cup next year now, I want to go there and play. I want to have an injury-free season. My top priority is to get back on my feet and get my confidence back. With City, we want to win all four competitions we’re in. I’ll just constantly have that winning mentality knowing there’s no better feeling than winning. Experiencing that in the summer has just made me more determined, the whole team will use it as fuel for the next tournament for sure.’