Kash Alien

Photo by Jade Rey as part of the 2023 FIFA WWC ‘Momentum On’ campaign.

“The world itself is growing. Whether it’s grassroots, after-school clubs or petitions… There'll be more ways for us to be involved, seen more and for women of all ages to have their moment.”

⸺Who is Kash Alien?

Kash is a singer-songwriter who supports Arsenal. “There’s been more opportunities for more people to be involved and for the teams to be expanded. We had a small selection of teams before, and now there’s a lot of people involved. Different shapes, sizes, ages and lots of women being able to be a part of it and do what they love.

⸺What team/country do you support and why?

I support Arsenal.

So I started supporting Arsenal from a young age. I started supporting Arsenal because of my family. My uncle was an avid supporter. He would watch all the games, he would take me to the pub and he got me my first jersey. So I was like, okay, cool, this is what I'm doing. I didn't feel like I was really invested in football at the time.

It was kind of like a glory hunter kind of thing. Like, I was supporting Tottenham at one point because I was like, yeah, I was supporting Tottenham at first because I was a lot younger then and I'm from North London, so I was like, okay, Tottenham is near me, but not knowing that Arsenal is way better, so he put me in the right place.

⸺How long have you been watching women’s football and have you noticed any changes within the sport?

I actually recently went to one of my first women games, but I'd go to events with my friends who play football. It was nice and refreshing to see the girls play because it was like, you don't get that much coverage, I feel like, when it comes to the women's football, and I feel like they have tekkers, like they're proper skilled. We don't get that opportunity to show ourselves that much. So, yeah, it was refreshing to see, for sure.

⸺What impact do you think the 2022 Euros had on women and women’s football in general?

I just feel like it’s elevated. There’s been more opportunities for more people to be involved and for the teams to be expanded. We had a small selection of teams before, and now there's a lot of people involved. Sizes, ages and lot’s of different people being able to be a part of it and do what they love.

Being a fan of a club, I feel like you have to be invested, like you have to love the team, know the players and be part of it. Like a religion. There’s passion, more drive and more energy, now that we're in the world where there is more coverage, more press, the players are being spoken about and being interviewed. There's more energy between the team mates, more committed to it. It’s not like a “We're gonna be penalised, we're going to be looked at differently - because we are not the men.”

The women are going at it with their balls, big and strong. Going at it as if they were the men. And better.

⸺What actions do you think could be made to encourage more diverse younger girls to continue playing and support our current players?

I feel like there definitely could be more representation of Black and Brown players. I feel like there's a lot of black and brown people that want to do football that don't necessarily get the opportunity to because they're not in the right spaces, or they don't know where to go or what kind of path they have to go down.

I feel like we don't get that opportunity as much. I feel like we just struggle with that in general. So, yeah, it's a bit hard to have that diversity. I feel like, yeah, we have it in, I guess, the standard football Champions League, Premier League, but it's not the same when it comes to the Euros. I feel like it could be better, for sure.

⸺How do you view the future of women's football?

We have a lot to offer when we have a strong identity, we bring a lot, we are powerful. It’s good to see. We are great at fitness and why not? The future will be bigger, brighter and better. It will continue to grow.

Make it more welcome for people, be more open to show their talent, and be themselves. The world itself is growing, so opening the spaces and allowing for women of any ages to have their moment. Whether it be clubs, after school clubs, petitions or whatever it is. Ways for us to be involved more and seen more.