International Women’s Day: 5 inspirational WSL footballers making a difference off the pitch | OneFootball

International Women’s Day is a celebration of women and a call to action to act boldly and decisively for all women and girls. In English women’s football, we have seen role models spreading awareness and understanding on topics that matter the most for women as a minority group and those not physically represented in women’s football.

We’ve listed five inspirational female footballers who have been making a difference by using their platforms for good.

Beth Mead

Beth Mead lost her mother, June, to cervical cancer in January 2023, after an initial diagnosis in 2021. Mead has been open about her experience in hopes that it can help others. She is supporting a public health campaign to help eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. The Arsenal winger also raised money for Ovarian Cancer Action by walking 100km in memory of her mother. She hopes that sharing her experience will help others.

She told BBC Sport: “I know my mum would have wanted me to do that. Perspective is an exciting thing for me now. How can I help people? How can I be a person? I’d like to think my mum would be very proud of the person I am.”

June passed away from ovarian cancer, which was her primary cancer, but she also had cervical cancer.

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The Lioness said: “I think it’s treatable cancer, but obviously, people don’t get checked enough. Hopefully [with this campaign], we can make a real difference.”

The campaign ‘Defend your tomorrow’ was marketed at the North London Derby in February 2025 to raise awareness of the disease’s potential preventability. The campaign featured her teammates Leah Williamson, Katie McCabe, Kyra Cooney-Cross, and Manu Zinsverger.

Leah Williamson

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Leah Williamson is an icon not just on the pitch but off it, too. The England skipper has spoken out about her diagnosis of endometriosis, with which she faced long and painful periods.

She has recently made it known that she was on her period the day she lifted England women’s first ever major trophy at Euro 2022. She feared her condition, which caused agonising period pains, would jeopardise her participation in that historic European championship. This was after she experienced anxiety about her condition, which is a daily battle for a lot of women.

Williamson told Women’s Health: “You know when you’re on the bathroom floor and literally like, ‘I can’t move.’ When it’s too late to take the tablets because I’m, like, in it now. I was like, ‘It cannot happen. Like, I actually won’t be able to play.'”

She has also spoken out this year about the period stigma in sports, including period leaks and pain. With Arsenal captain Kim Little, Beth Mead, and Katie McCabe, they campaigned to break the stigma around periods in sports. The slogan is ‘Every stain should be part of the game’.

Arsenal are running workshops and programmes to educate and support children and adolescents in challenging society’s view of menstruation and encouraging conservation and understanding during periods in sports. The Lionesses no longer wear white shorts to remove that anxiety, and Nike designed leak-proof base-layer shorts with these concerns in mind.

Millie Bright

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Millie Bright has been vocal about the need to remove the stigma and obstacles associated with women’s breasts in sports and life.

The England defender teamed up with St. John’s Ambulance to launch a groundbreaking campaign featuring the CPR Bra. This first educational bra of its kind reassures people that taking fast action is the right way to save a life, regardless of gender. It features the message ‘It’s OK to Save My Life’ on the front, alongside the essential steps needed to respond to a cardiac arrest.

This campaign follows new research revealing that one third of Brits are afraid to give CPR on women because of concerns about touching breasts. In the same proportion, 33 percent of men say they worry about accusations of ‘inappropriate’ touching when giving chest compressions to women suffering cardiac arrest in public, compared to just 13 percent of women.

Bright comments: “I’ve had the experience of being on the pitch when someone suffered a suspected cardiac arrest, and it was terrifying. It’s so important that we all take the time to learn how to save a life, as we never know when we might need the help of strangers. To learn that as a woman, I am more at risk because people are uncomfortable to provide help due to my gender is shocking.”

The Chelsea captain has also teamed up with Maaree, a sports bra company. She has suffered from long-term shoulder pain, likely due to unsupportive bras or having to wear two sports bras at a time.

She has been vocal about this partnership: “It’s amazing to be part of a brand that has nailed the comfort and support whilst playing sports. This has been something I’ve struggled with for a long time.”

Alex Scott

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Alex Scott has been at the forefront of women’s football for several decades, including winning countless trophies for Arsenal. But she remains outspoken about her concerns that the sport’s growth — driven by a surge in out-of-town academies — limits opportunities for inner-city girls by making travel to training sessions more challenging.

The ex-Lioness said: “Football is for everyone. Everyone should have an equal opportunity, which needs to be remembered. My responsibility is to continue to highlight important things like that.”

In the BBC 2022 documentary The Future of Women’s Football, Scott expressed concern over the sport’s lack of diversity. This discussion followed criticism of the Euro 2022 women’s squad, which featured only Nikita Parris and Demi Stokes from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Scott said the steps in place are positive, but it is still a work in progress.

“When I did the documentary, I needed to raise that point. We need to do something so I can continue to shout about it, but you have to make people responsible. That is when the FA look at themselves. Are they doing something now? Yes, but we must measure it and say: ‘What are you doing? Is it going to be good enough?’

“It is something we can measure in the next couple of seasons to say: ‘Are you giving everyone a fair chance?'”

Finally, she is a champion for mothers in the game. The physical demands of football mean that mothers often don’t receive the support they deserve.

Scott said: “I know so many players over the years who put off having a family simply because there was no support in place to take time off from their clubs to have children. There was also this unspoken fear that if you did start a family, you would lose your career.”

Lauren James

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Lauren James has spoken about the lack of sports role models who looked similar to her as a child. However, she is now using the platform and has to change that.

She told Glamour: “There are less fortunate kids who aren’t getting seen – or can’t even get to training. That’s why I’ve launched this scholarship to help those girls who have barriers to realising their potential.”

The Chelsea star launched the LJ10 Scholarship to increase diversity for women in football. This scholarship programme is for young girls from minority backgrounds in football. Its goal is to help up-and-coming footballers navigate the early years of their careers. It hopes to guide these girls to fulfil their potential, and she will be the driving force behind this.

She took to Instagram with the launch of the scholarship, writing: “I grew up in a house of football. I was lucky that I had the support of those around me to play and be put in environments where I could succeed.

“But that success didn’t come easy, and I saw girls that look like us fall away because they didn’t have that support. Now, I’m in a position where I can try to make a bit of a difference.

“It won’t happen all at once. But we need to get more diversity in the women’s game, and that starts with giving girls like you — who have the talent to succeed — every chance to do so.”

The Lioness is also an ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football, which runs free football sessions for children aged 5-11 nationwide.

The forward stated” “It allows everyone to get involved, no matter your background or what health and wealth you have. And it just allows everyone to get involved and feel welcome.”

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