England’s captain, Leah Williamson, has said she would never take the possibility of strike action off the table if players are not listened to over scheduling concerns.
Speaking before England’s first two World Cup qualifiers, against Ukraine in Turkey and Iceland in Nottingham next week, Williamson said drastic action was “always a possibility” with talk of player overloading at the highest level a growing concern.
“Nobody wants any games, years, seasons to be taken away from them, tournaments especially,” she said. “But I think across men’s and women’s football, the possibility for growth in the game never seems to end, and the money that’s on the table for everyone involved. We’ll benefit from that too [but] there has to be a balance. I would never rule out further action from the players because I think if it needed to happen for people to protect themselves, I wouldn’t blame anybody.”
On whether that included strike action, the Arsenal defender said: “I’ve not had any conversations about this right now, but if a group of people don’t feel like they’re getting listened to, then history suggests that’s the only way they can be heard, so I would never take it off the table. I don’t think that’s where we are now. I think we’re still in a place where we can collaborate, listen and educate.”
Williamson is one of several Lionesses to have spoken out on the issue. In November Keira Walsh urged governing bodies to “listen to the players” over the congested schedule and Lucy Bronze discussed overloading and underloading in the Shine A Light report of the global players’ union Fifpro.
Williamson’s words come after her first England call-up since the 2025 Euros final in Switzerland, after her recovery from surgery on a knee injury picked up during that tournament and a calf strain incurred during rehabilitation. A number of Lionesses missed games because of injuries after the Euros, including Bronze, Lauren James, Michelle Agyemang, Hannah Hampton, Alex Greenwood, Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Ella Toone, Niamh Charles and Chloe Kelly.
Williamson said we would “never know for sure” why this happens after a major tournament. “I don’t think people argue against the scheduling for fun. There’s reasons behind it. If you listen to the players’ group, of course we want to play all the time with the best quality and the hardest but the more successful you are – and this team has been very successful in terms of club too if you factor that in – then the less rest you have and the higher risk of injury there is.
“It’s an accumulation. When we look ahead, I’m sure the players would love to just turn up and play football, but we do use our voice and we do try to get involved in conversations with the hierarchy so that they at least have our perspective. Whether they listen to it or not is out of our control.”
Before the trip to Turkey to play Ukraine, Williamson said the situation facing their players was “incomprehensible”.
She said: “I’m looking forward to an occasion that celebrates those players. I’m proud to play for my country and I can’t imagine how they feel to step out in the Ukraine kit. So, I’m glad that the fixture is possible and I’m glad that it is being played and we’ve obviously had a great solution, but I’m sure we’d all rather see this fixture be played in Ukraine.”
England’s home Women’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine on 9 June will be played at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Football Association’s decision to take the Lionesses to the 52,700-capacity ground demonstrates its growing confidence in the appeal of Sarina Wiegman’s team as they attempt to back up their double European Championship-winning heroics by winning the World Cup for the first time in 2027.
The Lionesses’ qualifying campaign concludes with the game against Ukraine. England’s recent non-Wembley home games have been played at smaller grounds such as Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium and Derby County’s Pride Park, so a first visit to Everton’s new home stadium represents a significant step up in size.
Everton Women have been based at Goodison Park this season, attracting the third-highest average attendance figure in the Women’s Super League after Arsenal and Chelsea.
Everton have been active in hiring out Hill Dickinson Stadium since it opened last summer. England’s rugby league side played an Ashes Test against Australia there last November, a Nations Championship rugby union international between Fiji and England has been scheduled for July, and Scotland will face Côte d’Ivoire in a World Cup warm-up game next month.
The stadium has also been put forward as a potential venue as part of the UK’s 2035 Women’s World Cup bid.
The FA and Everton declined to comment.
