Former Lioness Rachel Yankey has admitted she had to cut her hair and change her name as a youngster - just to play football.
Yankey addressed a group of young footballers as part of an emotional team talk at the Gatorade’s 5v5 all-female tournament, about the first team she played as an eight-year-old in Kilburn, north-west London. At the time, Yankey recalls, there were no girls who played football in her local area and there were no female role models she could look up to.
Gatorade launches the first video in its ‘Team Talk’ series featuring the former England and Arsenal icon and she shared how many barriers she faced as youngster just trying to play football as a girl.
