Fara Williams feels diversity has taken a step back since she and the other football-mad kids on her Battersea estate replicated Wembley finals in cages and dared to dream of one day playing in the real deal.
The 40-year-old, England’s most-capped footballer of either gender, made her Lionesses debut as a 17-year-old in 2001 and hung up her boots two trophy-laden decades later.
Much has improved as women’s football has evolved into what the ex-midfielder’s former England team-mate Karen Carney last year declared could become a billion-pound industry – but Williams is wary that an increasingly elite game also risks leaving less-privileged girls behind.
Speaking at Wembley ahead of this weekend’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals, she told the PA news agency: “When I look back on the England teams I played in we had a Black manager (Hope Powell), certainly when I started in England at least five players were black and the rest were made up of white females, but now when you look at the England (women’s) team it’s pretty much made up of white players.
“And so when you think about being relatable to everybody, I don’t think the Lionesses quite represent that now. I feel like it was more represented when I played than it is now but I also understand that the game has changed massively.
“The more elite it’s got, the more expensive the game has become in terms of trying to afford to play, trying to afford one-to-one personal trainers, it’s more expensive.
“And so when you are from an underprivileged area, in terms of accessibility for that, I think you’re putting barriers in a way for underprivileged people to participate.”
Last year, a report conducted by the BBC estimated that black, Asian and minority ethic players made up a maximum of 15 per cent of those signed to WSL clubs, while the Lionesses remain overwhelmingly white.
The FA has acknowledged challenges with representation across the women’s game and have taken steps they hope will accelerate change, including a significant overhaul of the performance pathway early last year to tackle barriers like travel distance to training centres and access to elite-level coaching.
Winning clubs in this weekend’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals will receive £90,000 from a near-£6 million prize pot that has more than doubled since last season’s edition, with this year’s champions receiving £430,000 alongside the trophy.
In November, tech giant Adobe signed on as the competition’s title sponsor for the next three years, becoming the latest major brand to specifically back a women’s sporting event.
Last year also marked a first Wembley sell-out for the final, with a record crowd of 77,390 turning out to watch Chelsea lift the trophy for the fifth time in their history.
Williams scored an own goal in her first FA Cup final and lost three more before finally lifting one with Everton at the City Ground in 2010 but it was winning her second with Arsenal in 2016 that remains the highlight.
Wembley only took over hosting duties for the trophy contest in 2015, so for Williams 2016 was a first chance to fulfil what was once an impossible childhood fantasy – even if it came at the expense of runners-up Chelsea, who she grew up supporting.
That trophy took the now-BBC pundit right back to the days of playing a game called “Wembley knockouts” in a south London cage, where winners would ascend its steps and pretend they were those of the iconic venue.
So while Williams will continue to advocate for the “more diverse thinking” she feels is critical to ensuring progress doesn’t stall, revisiting her own Wembley triumph does remind her about just how far things have indeed come.
She said: “That was the ultimate dream. Even more so than winning the league. Walking the Wembley steps was something that, certainly in my era, I never thought would be achievable.
“And now it’s becoming a regular thing at Wembley. We played I think in front of 40,000. Now to do a sell-out, it’s amazing.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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