Angela Nelson-Iye
Photo by Jade Rey as part of the 2023 FIFA WWC ‘Momentum On’ campaign.
“People that were underestimating women’s football…changed their view ⸻ as we can actually compete.”
⸺Who is Angela Nelson-Iye?
Angela plays for Charlton U21 team.
“I just really like football. It doesn’t need to be a “women’s” football thing. When the football wasn’t popular, my brother and I used to have debates about mens vs women’s football. But now as it’s more popular and people are becoming aware of it, we are on the same page now. It’s just football.”
⸺What team/country do you support and why?
I support England and Nigeria.
I started off supporting England, but during my off-season, one of my older team mates spoke to me about the Nigerian under 17’s team as they were interested in me. I then asked my dad about it and he was like, because of safety and security reasons, it wouldn't be safe for me to play for Nigeria at the moment. And that's like one of the things I want to change. I want there to be more opportunities for people to play in those countries and a more safer environment for them to play in.
⸺How long have you been watching women’s football and have you noticed any changes within the sport?
I never actually played football in the start, I was mainly into athletics. Until one of my PE teachers said I should play football as I was quite good. My grandmother thought so as well. So when I was nine years old, I did an Arsenal trial and it was alright. I didn’t stick with it till I was in year 7 and that’s when I took it more seriously. When my parents were younger they were quite athletic as well. But my dad was more of a martial artist. So he was already encouraging me into some type of sport.
All my siblings now play sports. My brother plays football, my sister plays football. My youngest brother is leading more towards basketball.
⸺What impact do you think the 2022 Euros had on women and women’s football in general?
It was a case of the men’s team couldn’t win the Euros, but the women’s team could. But all the people that were underestimating the women’s team as a whole, not just the England women’s team, changed their view as we actually can compete.
My young sister wasn't really like interested in football first. And then she was really interested in that tournament, that's when she really started to want to train with me and then train with her little local team.
My younger sister felt that if the women’s team could do it, then I could do it.
⸺What actions do you think could be made to encourage more diverse younger girls to continue playing and support our current players?
I think there isn’t enough representation for young black and brown girls to want to actually play. Sometimes with teams, they're is like a specific dynamic or like a look that the coaches want the team to have. And I remember when I first went to an England camp, there were three girls that looked like me, and the rest didn’t. I know a lot of people that actually play football, so why aren't there a lot of us here? And then I didn't really see any brown girls there too, so I think that there should be more diversity in a sense.
⸺How do you view the future of women's football?
Namely, bigger competitions and also allowing for girls to play football with funding and access to their own playing grounds.
“I just really like football, it doesn't need to be a women’s football thing. Women should be able to say: I play football. Not, I play women's football. When football wasn’t popular, my brother and I used to have debates about mens vs womens football. But now as it’s more popular and people are becoming aware of it, we are on the same page now. It’s just football.”
