“I’ve always had this fire within me to make things better,” Kosovare Asllani reflects on a warm afternoon at London City Lionesses’ training ground. “That comes from my family always supporting me with that. But I also think that the generation before us took the fight and it’s our responsibility to continue it.”
This sense of duty is clearly intrinsic to Asllani’s character. Relaxed in her new surroundings, she jokes that she could talk forever, “just like we’re having coffee”. The seasoned Sweden international has never been afraid to talk about her life and issues in a sport that has transformed significantly since she first kicked a ball for Vimmerby IF. “In just a few years, we’ve made big changes but we’re not there yet,” she says.
“We’ve all been working together – the top players and teams have been signing papers, sending them to Fifa and craving change. I feel like we always need to demand these kinds of things,” she adds with a hint of frustration. “That is something that also has to change.
“Can we not just get the resources we need without always asking for it? I don’t want to compare it to the men, but they go in and have everything. We have to ask for simple things. I dream of a future where we don’t have to demand that we get all the resources we need for us to reach our highest potential.”
For Asllani, it goes beyond football. Her Kosovar Albanian heritage is a strong source of pride and another reason to make her voice heard. “I’ve always been so proud of it,” she says. “I know that I was one of the first with a foreign background in the Swedish national team. I realised early on that I’m a role model for girls who have different backgrounds.
“The feeling when I was in Kosovo last year receiving a Medal of Merit from the president means so much to me. I know I got my fighting spirit from there. My parents fought so much in their lives to come to Sweden and do everything they can to give me and my siblings a secure childhood. They have been an inspiration.”
The 35-year-old has played in six countries over the course of an eye-catching career, including the US, as well as spells at Manchester City, Milan and Real Madrid where she scored 28 goals in 69 appearances. She credits all experiences, good and bad, with developing her into the player she is today.
“I went to the USA at a young age because I wanted to spread my wings,” she says. “It’s a challenge to try different countries.,” she says. When I went to Paris, I had such a hard time adapting to the language and culture. It’s such a big difference. One day, you’re in a media presentation with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the men and half an hour later, you are in the middle of nowhere with no idea how to get food and how to get to training. You have to live it to understand it.
“It’s something that I’ve been on a mission [to do] because I’m interested in leadership and how it works in different cultures and how far women’s football has come in those countries … I’ve just been putting all these experiences in my backpack. Good or bad, everything has made me become a better version of myself.”
Asllani, who plays as a striker or an attacking midfielder, has been a stalwart of Sweden’s national side for more than a decade, amassing 188 caps and helping to bring home two Olympic silvers and World Cup bronze medals. She has stepped up to the captaincy seamlessly. “It’s a big responsibility but it’s something I love to have,” she says.
“Everything I do has been [about following] my values. It’s really important when you have the platform to use it in the right way because that’s when you can make a difference.”
It was this sense of advocacy and fighting inequality that drew her back to England. She became London City’s marquee signing of the summer, a significant statement from the new owner Michele Kang, who has made no secret of her aim to get her team promoted to the WSL.
Asllani’s arrival to play second-division football was a significant surprise but it was Kang’s mission that appealed. “If you look at the battles I’ve been fighting for an eternity, I feel like I’ve been waiting for someone like Michele to come around,” she says. “This is a vision. We want to rewrite the rules for women’s football.
“As players, we have someone to look up to. Everything she stands for is what I’ve been fighting for my whole career.”
There is plenty of work for Kang and her players to do, on and off the field. The transformation of London City’s training ground into a state-of-the-art facility is still at a nascent stage. The same goes for a playing squad that has seen plenty of arrivals and departures and a new manager, Jocelyn Prêcheur, come into the fold.
Promotion is the goal but Asllani recognises it will not be easy. However, her time at London City and the challenges it brings will be another valuable experience to add to her backpack.
