Leaving A Legacy

Rachel Furness, Northern Ireland

For the UEFA Women's EURO 2022, Goal Click collaborated with 12 international women’s footballers from across the national teams of Europe. The players, from Netherlands and Denmark to Portugal and Switzerland, documented their football lives in the weeks leading up to the tournament – finishing club seasons, playing in cup finals, national team training camps, international friendlies, and even the first matches of the Euros.

Rachel Furness plays for Liverpool and the Northern Ireland women’s national team.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football journey up until now?

My name is Rachel Furness and I play for Northern Ireland and Liverpool FC Women. I started playing football when I was five years old, and I was the only girl that played. My older brother played with his friends, and I asked to join in. After a little while I was allowed to join in and then my brothers’ friends actually asked me to join in over my brother most days. It was quite comical.

I then joined my local boys’ team until I was no longer allowed to play and then at 12, I joined Chester Le Street Ladies for my first experience with other girls playing football. I have had to sacrifice many important events (weddings, birthdays) to focus on football as well as relying a lot on my family driving me around the country. 

The worst time in my footballing career was when I was 16. I damaged my knee and had to have an operation. The surgeon told me to stop playing and I was out of the game for two years. When I tried to get my general health and fitness back, I tried to integrate myself back into the footballing environment. I eventually worked myself back up the football pyramid and got back to the highest level and was able to represent Northern Ireland again. 

I currently still manage my knees and am very thankful to my coaches around me that manage my workload for me to perform at the best of my ability week in week out. 

What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning?

I tried to show my life off the pitch which is very chilled and the hard work that goes in day in day out at clubs behind the scenes. I tried to capture special memories of winning the league with Liverpool along with even more special memories building up to our first major tournament with Northern Ireland.

One photo is of myself holding my panini sticker. It is a very surreal moment for myself personally and something I have dreamt of as a little girl. We also have a tradition before every game to get a selfie and to me it just symbolizes the togetherness of the group we have. 

What are the current opportunities for female footballers in Northern Ireland?

More young girls are now participating throughout Northern Ireland at the grassroots level especially. This will give us a bigger pool of players in the future. Young girls are now getting exposed to the international setup and the structure of the women’s game has been invested in more off the back of the success of the women’s team.

The changes I have seen personally (more so England where I am based) are the opportunies to play full time football, whereas I was once paying to play and working a 9-5 job. The investment in the women’s game with sponsorships and TV money has been a real game changer.

What does representing your country mean to you? 

Representing my country means absolutely everything to me. It is something that I pride myself on - making my family proud and carrying my late grandads name on.  My grandad was my inspiration growing up. He used to drive me to football and was the reason I was able to play at such a young age. He bought me my first pair of football boots and I will never forget that. 

I want to contribute and drive the success of women’s and girls’ football in Northern Ireland beyond my playing days. I want to leave Northern Irish football in a better place than I found it, so I feel I am on my way to doing so. 

What is the future for Northern Irish women's football? 

I think the future is so bright for Northern Irish women's football. I hope that us qualifying for our first major tournament is the start of things to come. The change started to happen when we won the play-off. The participation rates have gone up and the fanbase has continued to grow. I hope we inspire the next generation and show young girls they need to dream big.