BRIDIE HANNON ON WOMEN'S FOOTBALL: IT'S BETTER, BUT NOT QUITE THERE
- The Takes
- Mar 17
- 5 min read
What does it take to balance a professional career with elite football? Former Leeds United Women’s captain Bridie Hannon sat down with Footballer Layla and Sports Editor Sophia to discuss her football journey, overcoming challenges, and the future of women’s football.
From playing in America to navigating the struggles of funding and scheduling in women’s football, Bridie shares her insights, advice for young players, and hopes for the sport’s future.
Captured through the lens of Photography Director Anna SC, this exclusive interview offers a powerful look at resilience, passion, and the fight for progress in women’s football.
By Sophia O.
We had a fantastic opportunity last week when former Leeds United Captain Bridie Hannon visited our school (Queen Ethelburga's Collegiate, near York) to help promote girl's football.
During her exemplary career, Bridie captained Leeds United Women – her hometown club – enabling her to balance her professional career with her passion for football. From joining her first girl’s football team at 8 years old, Castleford White Rose Ladies, she’s played at local clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City.
While she spent a few months playing in America, in West Virginia, Bridie was happiest playing at her beloved hometown club Leeds United. Now, believing she is nearing retirement from playing, she continues to promote the next generation of young girls as well as exploring more commentary work.
Layla: What's been the biggest challenge in your career?
Bridie: The biggest challenge has probably been the lack of funding in women's football. Growing up, there weren’t that many opportunities to be a professional footballer, so I had to go through the normal route—school, college, football, university—and then get a job, working full-time alongside playing football. Football has been more of a hobby for me as opposed to a job.
I'm unfortunately now coming towards the end of my career, but I'm pleased to say that there's been a lot of strides made in the women's game. It is now possible to be a professional footballer, even if you’re not in the top league. Even in the first couple of leagues in the women’s pyramid, you can still make a living from it now, so it’s definitely come a long way.
The introduction of the WSL and seeing games on Sky and BBC has brought a lot more publicity to women's football. That, in turn, has generated more interest, which has brought in more money.
Sophia: And what advice would you give to someone facing that same challenge?
Bridie: Like I said, there are a lot more opportunities now, but I think always having a backup plan is important. That would be my main piece of advice. But also, if being a footballer is what you want to do, then you can do that now.
It's about making sure you’re keeping yourself fit and well, making sure you eat properly, and train with the right people… and when you get an opportunity- take it. Surround yourself with people who can give you those opportunities and listen to the advice of those who can help you.
There’s a lot of outside noise, especially with social media, but it’s important to focus on the people who are giving you the advice.
Layla: Who were your role models growing up, and how did they influence your career?
Bridie: My role model growing up was Kelly Smith, the former Arsenal and England player. She won a lot of trophies, both individually and for Arsenal, and she’s still England’s top goal scorer today.
I just loved watching her as a player—she was fantastic. She was also one of the first female footballers to go over to America and play over there- or ‘soccer’ as they call it. When I was 18 or 19, I wanted to follow in her footsteps. As it happened it wasn’t for me at the time, so I came back to England. But she remained a huge inspiration.
Now, as I come towards the end of my playing career, I’ve started moving into the media side of things. I’ve been doing commentary for the women’s game and some studio punditry for the men’s Leeds United team.
My two biggest influences now are Sue Smith and Lucy Ward. You often hear them on Match of the Day or see them on Sky Sports. They’ve faced challenges—especially with social media negativity—like, "Why is a woman commentating on a men's sport?" which is awful to see. But they’ve overcome it and continue to thrive. I watch and listen to them a lot, and I even talk to them sometimes to get advice.
Leeds United has really led by example in providing these media opportunities. In the past, when female footballers retired, you’d never hear of them again. But now, I have opportunities week in, week out to stay involved in the game... and it’s paid work as well, which is great.
Sophia: How did you manage the demands of your professional career with your personal life?
Bridie: It was difficult because I worked full-time. My schedule was: finish work at 5:00 PM, come home, eat dinner, do any household chores, then drive to the training ground twice a week.
One of the challenges for women’s football has been scheduling—we’d get training slots wherever they could fit us in, which was usually quite late. We trained from 8:00 to 10:00 PM, so by the time I got home, it was nearly 11:00 PM. Then, I’d shower and go to bed, only to wake up for work the next morning.
It was exhausting. And then, on weekends, Sunday away matches would take up the whole day, and I’d be back at work on Monday morning. So, it is really quite challenging.
You have to be organized. Eating healthily and resting whenever possible is key because if you’re living off takeaways and late nights, you won’t be able to perform at your best on Sundays.
But if you do make it professionally, hopefully, you don’t have to work full-time alongside playing.
Layla: What changes would you like to see in women's football over the next 5-10 years, both on and off the field?
Bridie: More publicity.
There is a WSL Show now, dedicated to women’s football, but it airs after Match of the Day on Saturday nights—so, at midnight. Who’s going to stay up until midnight to watch that? I think things like that need to be moved to better time slots.
Personally, I would love to go and watch WSL matches. A lot of WSL fans are female footballers, but we play on the same day as WSL games, so we can’t go and watch. I’ve always said either we should play on Saturdays or WSL games should be on Saturdays so that we, as players, can support and help grow the sport. These women are role models for us, yet we rarely get to see them play live. So, I’d like to see that change.
And then, again, there’s social media. While it’s only a minority, there’s still a lot of negativity. Social media companies need to do more to protect people—not just in football, but trolling in general. There should be better ways to verify accounts and hold people accountable for what they say online.
More positive social media engagement would make a huge difference.
End of interview
Bridie is an incredibly inspiring woman, not just a footballer, and is paving the way for many other young girls to have the same confidence and experiences she did. She remains heavily involved in the sport, with many commentary appearances and coaching. We were very grateful to have her on site and hear her story and what direction she thinks Women’s Football is and should be going in.
By Sophia O.
