Banned from playing football for boys’ teams as a child, England defender Lucy Bronze tells how she fought back from injury to represent her country and play for Lyon.

In her own words, Lucy offers insight into her unique journey and discusses how she discovered her passion for the sport.

Aged 11 and absolutely determined that she would carry on playing the beautiful game, Lucy insisted on her parents driving her 45 minutes to train at the nearest girls’ club in Sunderland. A serious knee injury threatened to jeopardise a place in the England squad, but Lucy refused to give up.

A double champion's league winner and the 2018 BBC Footballer of the Year, Lucy joins the Lionesses in their bid to win the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Show less