From the doyenne of football writing Julie Welch’s brilliantly illuminating story of the first women’s international match after a 50-year ban to the madcap tale of two black radio rookies in China… From the trials of covering the soap opera that is Newcastle United to the glamour of establishing Real Madrid TV… From the making of the magnificent Emma Hayes to the equally amazing Mums United FC… FOOTBALL, SHE WROTE is a first: a unique collection of 20 women’s voices on the game they love. Penned by a group of experienced and new writers, and embracing memoirs, profiles, interviews and talking points taking in sexuality, diversity and inclusion, it is an anthology to make you think and feel, laugh and cry.

Contributors: Kehinde Adeogun, Isabelle Barker, Kate Battersby, Alison Bender, Jade Craddock, Hayley Davinson, Molly Hudson, Tracy Light, Renuka Odedra, Fadumo Olow, Katie Mishner, Christina Philippou, Jane Purdon, Ali Rampling, Louise Taylor, Julie Welch, Julia West, Cassie Whittell, Katie Whyatt and Suzanne Wrack.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join this tour. I recieved a review copy of Football She Wrote from the publishers.

A football book? The last time I considered reviewing a football book was before the 2016 European Championships. I bought a book about the tournament and thought it may be fun to review it ahead of the competition starting. Half an hour later it was in the recycling and I had left a 1 star explaining why the authors were racist. So it’s not a high bar for Football She Wrote to improve upon!

Fortunately this anthology of articles and stories, all written by women, is both informative and heartwarming.

The book opens with a couple of stories covering the history of women’s football, the struggles for recognition and being taken seriously. The slow emergence of structure and competition and then the prolonged period where it wasn’t permitted. It gives a good background and allows better understanding of the hurdles which would lie ahead – often touched upon in subsequent chapters.

The stories (very) broadly fall into categories: the history, important figures either in the life of the contributor or an important figure in women’s football and then stories about how a contributors became involved in the sport (not necessarily as a player). The stories about how the writers became involved in their favourite sport were very much my favourites.

A couple of highlights; twin sisters travelling to China for the World Cup and offering to be media reporters (with no prior experience).  Cassie Whittell’s “Anfield of Dreams” charts her early interest in football, brushes with playing, starting to visit stadiums and the full journey to acceptance within the sport – this one one is worth the cover price!

I wasn’t so fond of stories about individuals. As inspirational and determined as these people have been, I prefer the bigger picture tales.

There are no obvious affiliations with a club or country which I very much appreciated. Too many sport collections dwell on single players or clubs and this puts off readers who root for the underdogs. It’s a nicely balanced collection of articles.

With the average contribution length being around a dozen pages long this is a book you can pick up, set down and revisit at any time. It never felt too heavy or bogged down in detail and the overwhelming feeling was these are writers discussing something they love.

If you’re a football fan and want to hear something a bit different about the players and clubs then you can’t go wrong with Football She Wrote.

Football She Wrote is available in paperback and digital format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Football-She-Wrote-Anthology-Writing/dp/1838030026/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32K2T0PTRN7YO&keywords=football+she+wrote&qid=1642547174&s=books&sprefix=football+she+wrot%2Cstripbooks%2C118&sr=1-1