In this episode, Kelly Smith MBE joins All Things Business Managing Director Ben Thomas for an in-depth look back over her life and career thus far.
Kelly played a pivotal role internationally in 4 European championships, and 2 world cups, and has played for the likes of Arsenal, England and even overseas in America.
Retiring from football & next steps in career
Since retiring from football, Kelly has worked toward the next steps in her career, moving on to work with brands such as Nike and Barclays who share her love of the game, as well as developing her role as a pundit for both the WSL and international games for Sky, the BBC and Fox sports.
Kelly talks to Ben about what it was like being a young girl growing up in England wanting to play football, her career highlights, what she considers her best ever goal and her reasons for leaving England to play in America.
She touches on her memories of wanting to join a football team as a child but having no options for women’s teams available to her and instead having to opt to join the older boys’ team. She continues to explain the challenges she faced when she was forced off the boys’ teams because she was a girl and her struggling to understand that as a young child.
Kelly also gives her thoughts on the current female talent in the sport as well as her expectation for the UEFA Women’s Euros this summer. Ben and Kelly finish up with a selection of fun quick-fire questions.
