Goal Click/Sam MewisFemale footballers photograph their journeys to the Women's World Cup
These photos and the stories they share shine a light on the lives of female international footballers from around the globe
In the lead up to the Women’s World Cup, Goal Click - a project set up to highlight global football stories through analogue photography - sent disposable cameras to female international footballers from countries around the world. The brief was simple: to document their journeys to the tournament in France.
From ice baths and dodgy toilet facilities in the US, to frozen pitches in Norway, the images give a glimpse into the different lives of these young women, with personal stories and observations about what football means to them and the sacrifices they have had to make.
Some of these women play for Champions League winning sides. Others have to supplement their playing career with work or study. All have had to dedicate themselves to the game they love.
The images give an insight into the fun of team sport, the setbacks and the access to new worlds that it can offer.
“It’s a look into the inner sanctum of women’s football, by the footballers themselves,” says Goal Click founder, Matthew Barrett.
Matt has shared some of those photos with us here.
Lucy Bronze – England
Lucy Bronze is one of the major stars of the Lionesses, the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2018 and also plays for Lyon, with whom she won the French League and Champions League this year.
Goal Click/Lucy Bronze“I was trying to capture the spirit of the team. We have such a wide range of personalities and cultures and languages, but I think you can see how much we enjoy being together, whether you speak the same language or not.”
Goal Click/Lucy Bronze“This was match day, en route to the second leg of our Champions League semi-final versus Chelsea. We have our match day suits on, only to be worn for big occasions and big games. Shanice [van de Sanden] and Kadeisha [Buchanan] are listening to their own music, but Saki [Kumagai] and me are watching the other semi-final, Barcelona v Bayern Munich, it was still the first half.”
Sam Mewis - USA
Sam Mewis plays as a midfielder for North Carolina Courage and the United States women’s national team, splitting her time between Raleigh in North Carolina and Boston, Massachusetts.
Goal Click/Sam Mewis“I think that one of the themes of my photos is showing that our lives are not super-glamorous all the time. I tried to show some of the more realistic parts of our lives. The bathrooms (not glamorous), the ice bath (cold as F), the bus (constantly travelling), FaceTiming my husband (a lot of us are in long-distance relationships).”
Goal Click/Sam Mewis“I really feel like my pictures demonstrate just how much fun we get to have with each other. The girls on the team are truly my closest friends and the time we spend together is never boring.”
Lauren Silver - Jamaica
Lauren Silver was born in the United States and represents the Jamaican national side, as well as playing for Norwegian club SK Trondheims-Orn.
Jamaica are playing at their first ever World Cup this year. The national team was restarted in 2014, after backing from Cedella Marley, Bob Marley’s daughter.
Goal Click/Lauren Silver“In Norway, during the winter, the snow definitely comes in waves. It’s cool that football takes me to places like Norway. Sometimes I take a step back to really remember and appreciate that.”
Loes Geurts - Netherlands
This is the Dutch goalkeeper's fifth major tournament (two World Cups and three European Championships) and she has played in a number of countries, including Sweden, the USA, Germany and the Netherlands. The photos show her team-mates at Swedish club side Goteborg FC.
Goal Click/Loes Geurts“At home we are always in the shade on the bench, where it can be very cold. We complain about that so for a moment we were happy we were sitting in the sun this time. The temperature was very nice, but as soon as the game started we realised we had a problem. We couldn't see anything with the sun in our faces! Our arms were getting tired of holding up our hands to block the sun; we came up with this sun blocking solution!”
Miranda Nild - Thailand
US-born Miranda Nild plays as a forward for the Thailand national team. Alongside preparing the World Cup, she has been in the process of writing a thesis on sex work at the University of California, Berkeley.
Goal Click/Miranda Nild“In August of last year I was playing with my college team for my final season. As that ended I had to still finish school - therefore I was very limited in what I could do for training. I decided to train with a boys' youth team and do weight workouts on my own, while casually hopping back into college practices when I felt like I needed extra touches.”
Tamires – Brazil
Tamires Cassia Dias Gomez plays for Brazil, as well as Danish club Fortuna Hjorring.
Goal Click/Tamires“My favourite photo is with my Brazilian team-mates Monica and Kerolin, we were playing Teqball at Granja Comary. The game is really fun and I was so happy and grateful, because I was playing and looking at all the beautiful views around us.”
Alanna Kennedy - Australia
Alanna Kennedy is in her fourth season in the US National Women’s Soccer League, where she plays for Orlando Pride. Her photos show off her national and club team-mates, as well as fans.
Goal Click/Alanna Kennedy“I tried to include some shots of fans as the game is nothing without them and their experience on game day is not something we always see, so it was exciting for me to actually experience that too.”
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