Football royalty. Lifelong Gooner. Author. Activist. Jazz piano enthusiast. Certified girl crush. At 28, The Lionesses’ Leah Williamson has captured the nation’s heart both on and off the pitch. Now, with the weight of it on her shoulders and another shot at the UEFA Women’s Euro trophy this summer, DJ and broadcaster Annie Macmanus, also known as Annie Mac, finds out what it’s really like to be at the heartbeat of the beautiful game.
It’s the summer of 2022. England’s pub gardens are effervescent, fizzing over with women knocking back frothy pints in chipped glasses, belting out ‘Football’s Coming Home’. Because this time, it actually did: The Lionesses won the UEFA Women’s Euro final against Germany, 2-1.
The morning after, before a packed Trafalgar Square, Captain Leah Williamson hoists the Euros trophy high and addresses the nation. “We wanted our legacy to be about women, and that’s what we’ve done,” she says defiantly, her voice cutting through a tsunami of shimmying England flags and swelling chants. Leah’s sun-soaked hair is swept into her signature blonde ponytail. Confetti catches in the breeze. She wears the England flag like a royal sash. Football’s own people’s princess.
Two years later: a traumatic ACL tear, nine months of recovery (during which she picked up the piano—more on that later), and a missed 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. But also, time—time with family, time to reflect. Her mindset toward the game has shifted, her schedule hasn’t. She’s resumed her impossible list of duties: training, media, activism, leadership, expectation. The crown’s still heavy, but now, Leah’s ready to shape it to fit: bespoke, and entirely on her own terms.
Today she’s lounging at her house in Hertfordshire, wearing grey joggers and a Nike T-shirt. A Pink Floyd poster framed on the wall above her head. She doesn’t deviate from her public persona—in fact, she’s the spitting image: contemplative, mischievous, sharply funny (watch her in any interview, and you’ll get the gist). Soft in her hardness, hard in her softness. Determined.
That, she got from her mum, Amanda—who cut her hair short to pass as a boy just to get on the pitch. And who, whenLeah was growing up as a kid in Newport Pagnell, would light the training ground with car headlights so her daughter could practice in the dark, when access to proper football facilities for girls was still an afterthought.
Now, that same town has a mural in her honour and a pitch bearing her name. A tribute not just to where she came from, but to where the game, under her steady foot, is heading.There’s still a long way to go before the playing field is truly level—especially globally. But since lifting the Euro’s trophy, the women’s game has carried that win like a cheeky wink. The aftershocks still hum beneath the surface—reaching further, and wider, every day. There are more women joining local teams, calling the shots from the sidelines, and blowing the whistle than ever before. Stadiums are filling. Kids are saying they want to be like Leah Williamson in the same breath as Zendaya or Billie Eilish. A goal celebration lands with the same energy as a chart-topping single. Football boots are becoming as ‘appropriate’ as ballet shoes. The dream isn’t just possible, it’s visible.
And just as clearly, Leah is living hers. At Arsenal, the club she joined at nine through the Centre of Excellence, she’s become the heartbeat of their defence—and, at the time of writing, is preparing to face Barcelona in the Champions League Final. For England, the Lionesses’ Euros 2025 squad hasn’t been announced yet but we unofficially assume she’s not only in it, but will captain the team once again.
Off the pitch, her reach is just as commanding. An OBE for services to football. Five co-written children’s books. The first female England player to speak at the UN, where she addressed the Sustainable Development Goals Summit and called for gender equality in sport. A steady stream of charitable work.Leah Williamson hasn’t just captained the Pride of England—she’s become it. Did we mention she’s 28?And, to add to the list, she single-handedly got DJ, Author, Broadcaster and host of podcasts Changes and BBC podcast Sidetracked, Annie Mac, back into football. Leah’s influence, so far, has defied scientific explanation. But if there’s anyone to try and explain its effect, it’s Annie…
Annie Macmanus: I listened back to our Changes episode from summer 2023 and loved that conversation. You were recovering from your ACL injury and about to head to Australia with your mum and brother to watch the World Cup—your first time watching an international tournament instead of playing in one. You were reflective but also positive and focused on making the most of that time beyond football. Looking back, howwas that period for you?
Leah Williamson: Firstly, it genuinely saved my football career—in terms of reigniting something. When you’re young, you always think the big day will come, because you’ve got time. But the timing of my injury forced me to refocus and be more deliberate about everything, especially football. It put me in a much better place. Off the pitch, though—the things I didand the time I spent with people—I would never have had thatotherwise.
AM: How hard was the physical side of coming back? And afternine months out, is there fear that you won’t have your place on the team?
LW: One hundred percent. It’s not even a question—it’s a fact.Will I be able to play again? Am I still as valuable to the team?All of that. During my ACL injury, I had this phrase in my head:‘Enjoy the moments.’ So when I was close to returning—a sell-out at the Emirates against Man United—I threw myself a party with all my family and friends. I thought, why shouldn’t I celebrate this? It’s a big moment. And then I got injured again and didn’t make my return. Still had the party. It was difficult because everything kept breaking along the way. I tore my hamstring, irritated my other knee, tore a muscle in my hip that’s almost impossible to tear. Little things kept happening. So I’d say it wasn’t until September—and this all started in February—that I finally felt like there was nothing wrong with me anymore.
AM: And what about confidence? Beyond the physical side, how hard was it to regain the belief that you could still do it?
LW: That’s been the main struggle, and it’s still ongoing—there are still firsts to tick off. I love the phrase, ‘Faith and fear both have little evidence.’ It’s your choice which one to follow, but sometimes you lean too far one way. I’m trying to live in the present and trust my ability now, but without anything to go on, it’s hard. My brain works like, ‘Give me the info and I’ll act on it,’ and I had no data, no evidence, no memory—that’s what I struggled with.
AM: I know you said it’s ongoing, but is there a sense that the more you play there’s a sense of your body, your brain coming together and aligning with each other? Is it just practice? Is it just boots on the field?
LW: For a long time, it was that. It was, ‘I feel uncomfortable, but unless I do this next step, I’m not going to know.’ Just chasing that hope that with more game time and more minutes, it’ll figure itself out. But then you hit moments where you expect something of yourself and don’t quite deliver. Or the opposite—you go in thinking, ‘We’ll see what happens,’ and have a great game, and suddenly it’s, ‘I’m back!’ Then you hit a bit of a downer again. I think it is about playing and time, but also, like I said, you have to be more intentful. Instead of thinking, ‘I know what to do,’ you have to actually tell yourself, and then hope you can deliver when the time comes.
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Photography by Jack Chipper
Styling by Toni-Blaze Ibekwe
Interview by Annie Mac
Words by Ella Bardsley
Make-up by AJ Juttla at Vision Artists using Haus Labs By Lady Gaga
Hair by Mike O’Gorman
Nails by Jessica Ciesco using CHANEL Le Vernis in Ballerina and CHANEL La Crème Main
Set Design by Jacob McAlindon and Grace McNerney
Lighting Alex José
Fashion Assistants Agostinho Sousa Junior, Mariliet Vin-Kab, Rachel- Hilary Doku
Retouching by Olya Kushyk
Videography by Pirl Baruh
Videography Assistant + BTS Bea Do Vale