'Being a young girl was my first challenge' - Leah Williamson opens up on breaking down barriers, inspiring the next generation with England's Lionesses & her latest campaign with Pepsi

When Williamson was a young girl, her desire to kick a ball around certainly challenged those conventions that she speaks about. At the turn of the century, women’s football was still a largely amateur sport, especially in England, despite the success of teams like Arsenal, still the only English side to be crowned European champions in the women’s game.

“Being a young girl was definitely my first challenge,” she tells GOAL of the obstacles she faced to get to where she is today. “I was fighting against social norms and against what some people maybe believed to be right or wrong. I think some people definitely thought they had a right to play over and before me. I was lucky to find a girls’ team really early in my childhood, but I still didn’t know I could become a professional football player until I was about 16 or 17 years old.

“I think the difference today is that girls don't necessarily have to search for role models or for people to look up to and see what their future might look like. If young girls go into school today and said they planned on being a professional footballer, that would seem totally normal to everybody because it's possible and everybody sees it on a daily basis. That wasn't the case when I was younger, so it's dramatically different now.”

Williamson is at the forefront of that growth of the game. A lot of credit and acknowledgement needs to be given to those who came before her, the pioneers who fought for progress and who are not recognised as widely, but women’s football has never been as visible as it is right now and Williamson is one of the most recognisable women’s stars in England, if not the world, today. That profile brings responsibility as more and more young girls start to get involved in the sport.

“I'm very grateful to have been part of this generation of players,” she says, asked about the responsibility on her shoulders. “I think the opportunities that will come for the next generation of women’s football players will be incredible, but I'm proud to have played a role in the progress made today. It's why I’m so pleased to work with Pepsi on this Where There’s A Ball There’s A Way campaign. I want to encourage people to challenge convention and make it happen for themselves, to basically take back control of the game and ensure they get the most out of it for themselves. I've been a part of a group of women, just incredible women, who have decided that this is what they wanted to do, so they've pursued it and not taken no for an answer.

“I play football and I take part in such exciting Pepsi campaigns because I love it, but I do know that I have a responsibility. I was really lucky. My parents put women's football in front of me because I had an interest in it and we had the means to travel to games. Now we have a responsibility to be there for those young girls who might want to pursue a career in football, or those young girls who just need inspirational women in their life to pursue their own dreams. We need to be there to invite them into the game and give them as many opportunities as possible.”

The steps that the women’s game has taken forward in recent years have been incredible, with record-breaking crowds, financial investment and improvements in facilities all helping the game to come on leaps and bounds, making the quality even better in the process.

“I think we're at the stage where we're really knocking on the door of creating something that is sustainable for the long-term,” Williamson says. “It feels like we've hit a bit of a turning point with so much interest in the women’s game and that is leading to much more quality as well. I think we’ve seen the quality in women’s football fly now that the opportunities are there and everybody knows they can now pursue the career professionally. I definitely think we are at that stage in England, and I can only speak for England because I play here, but I think there’s been huge progress across the world too.”

That’s not to say that there is not more to do, though. There are still players across the world fighting for professionalism, for higher standards and for more investment, and improvements that can be made in countries that are leading the way.

Williamson knows that, adding: “The next step is to achieve this progress across the board and to see greater consistency in the women’s game. I think the standards are too inconsistent right now. I think the gap between the top clubs in the top countries in the world, and those lower down the football pyramid, is too big at the moment. If you compare it to men's football, the disparity might be similar, but the lowest standard in the men’s game is quite a lot higher than what we currently see in the women’s game. There’s no doubt we're on track to see a major, major difference in five, 10, 15 years, but that is what I want to change to take the women’s game to another level.”

One of those top clubs really leading the way, in England and beyond, is Arsenal. The country’s most successful club in the women’s game, the Gunners have a long history in this sport and they have shown incredible quality off the pitch in recent times, too, with the marketing second-to-none when it comes to celebrating the Women’s Super League. All the top three crowds in WSL history have come at the Emirates Stadium and all in the last 18 months as well.

“People in positions of power at Arsenal decided they were going to make change and that's exactly what's happened,” Williamson says of the club she has played for since she was nine years old. “They maybe gambled on the fact that there would be interest and I think we've got the answer. We've sold out, or nearly sold out, however many games this season. It's becoming a bit of a regular occurrence and all of these things are great.

“Yes, I think other clubs in the Women’s Super League need to do the same. A plant doesn't grow without it being watered. If you put the time into something and invest in making it happen, then I think you'll reap the rewards because you're seeing it at Arsenal now. It's an incredible atmosphere and we're lightyears ahead of where we maybe thought we would have been not so long ago.”

The women’s game might seem to be constantly taking strides forward, but it’s been a difficult year for Williamson herself, who was dealt a devastating setback when she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament last April. The news came just three months before the World Cup was set to kick off in Australia and New Zealand, denying the 27-year-old the chance to captain England at the biggest tournament in the sport.

But, while nine months on the sidelines will have been incredibly tough, Williamson set about making the most of her time away from the pitch. From speaking at the United Nations' General Assembly, to playing the piano with the BBC Concert Orchestra, she kept herself busy before making her long-awaited return to action in January.

“I was very excited to be back on a football pitch. It's what I love to do and it’s the reason I pursued this career in the first place,” she says. “It's great to have my freedom back after spending so long with so many things that I simply couldn’t do while I was injured. But I'm grateful for the time that I've had off the pitch as well because it was given to me for a reason.

“I tried to make best use of the time I gained while I was injured by working with partners such as Pepsi to continue to grow the women’s game, even if I couldn't have an impact on the pitch. To work on campaigns like Where There’s A Ball There’s A Way and to make a genuine difference is really important to me, too. When you see brands like Pepsi that are motivated to grow the game and are genuinely invested in growing the women's game, then I'll give them all the time in the world. There's a bit of a dream team here with Pepsi and I tried to dive into working with them as much as possible to achieve our goals.”

Williamson’s return to action has been a welcome boost for club and country, with her an important figure for Arsenal and England not only because of her footballing ability but because of her qualities as a captain, too. Named Lionesses skipper back in 2022, she’s worn the armband on a regular basis for the Gunners, too, even if she doesn’t see herself as someone who craves such an honour.

“I was listening to a really interesting talk and this person said her biggest strength as a leader was that she didn't want to be one. I like that way of thinking,” Williamson explained, asked how she sees herself as a captain. “I think you can just be yourself and then somebody acknowledges your leadership skills and the impact you’re having on the team by making you captain.

“I think I'm a delegator. It's about getting from A to B in the best and most efficient way, while keeping everybody involved. It's about taking care of everybody that surrounds you. I've always said being a captain doesn't give you superpowers, but it does give you the power to bring up those around you. I think that's what I've tried to do whilst wearing the armband for club and country.”

As the person who captained England to victory at the 2022 European Championships, the country’s first major title since the men’s team won the World Cup in 1966, and someone who helped guide Arsenal to a first trophy in four years with last year’s Continental Cup triumph, Williamson’s methods are certainly working.

Pepsi has brought together some of the world’s greatest footballers in a new global campaign - “Where There’s A Ball There’s A Way” - which sees the brand unlock unexpected ways to play, both on and off the pitch.