‘I want to inspire girls to think it is normal to do this’
Our award winner Jodie Taylor relishes her status as a football role model, she tells Katie Smith ‘Most of us older players never had someone to aspire towards’
Jodie Taylor took to the stage to collect her Action Woman of the Year award on Monday night looking slightly bemused by the bright lights of the television studio and the beaming faces all around her. The BT Sport Action Woman awards, in association with The Daily Telegraph, were a far cry from where she would normally find herself on a cold Monday in December: on a football pitch with a ball at her feet. And she acknowledged feeling out of her comfort zone. “I really can’t do heels,” she chuckled afterwards.
Despite her own distaste for the limelight, Taylor embraces the idea that she can and should be a role model for aspiring sportswomen. She wants striving to do your best in sport to be, simply, “normal” for a female. “I had no female role models growing up because there simply weren’t any,” she said. “I think my first was Mia Hamm [US footballer] when I was about 14. Somehow it had filtered over from the US but it wasn’t until I got selected for an under-16s England camp that I even realised an England team existed.
“For most of us, the older players, we never had role models and we must never forget how powerful that is. To have someone to aspire towards, whether that’s a female football player or any kind of female athlete, is so important when deciding which sport or avenue you want to go down. I would hope that women could be on a poster for at least one little girl out there and get her out playing sport and have this belief that it’s normal. Because for us, we didn’t feel normal.” Taylor won the public vote to be crowned Action Woman of the Year after she was awarded the golden boot at this summer’s European Championship, as well as winning Player of the Year at the FA women’s football awards.
She is one of only three England players, alongside Sir Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker, to score a hat-trick for England at a major tournament. Her achievements, she insisted, however, have to be seen in the context of the team.
“It’s amazing to be recognised individually,” she said. “But all of that comes down to the team that you’re in and I always have to thank the team because without them I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. For me, it’s about being the best version of me for the team. My position is scoring goals and so that’s what I do. So the recognition is nice but weird at the same time.”
She is well aware that this has been a life-changing year for herself, as well as for women’s sport in Britain. The television coverage of the Euros in the summer launched Taylor from relative unknown to a female football icon. The 31-year-old only made her England debut in 2014.
“It is weird and it’s pretty cool and something I didn’t think would necessarily happen, especially making my England debut so late. It’s kind of cool to see how my journey has played out and I think the public have enjoyed that, too.”
Taylor has been part of the Arsenal set up since 2016 but has decided to return to the US, where she has played for several clubs previously, joining Seattle Reign in January, following a six-week spell in the sun at Melbourne City.
“I came back to the UK with the Euros the main focus, which turned out pretty good. I always had the intention of returning to the US and that’s not to say I wouldn’t come back here. I’m grateful for what I’ve had and playing for England is one of my priorities.
I’m hoping that the intensity of playing in the American league will help me develop to be the best I can for England going into the World Cup in 2019.” Taylor is keen to keep pushing the perception of women’s sport after a year of success for British teams and athletes. The Action Woman Awards celebrated those achievements, with Wimbledon semi-finalist Johanna Konta in third place and canoeist Mallory Franklin second, while acknowledging more work needs to be done.
“To be surrounded by such inspirational women and role models, I feel honoured to even be nominated,” Taylor said. “These awards are a push towards promoting women in sport. But I would love to see it equally celebrated with the men one day.” The Action Woman of the Year is not ready to stop just yet.