Nottingham Forest’s Gianna Mitchell is relishing the chance to swap the offices at the City Ground for the pitch this weekend.
Mitchell will be part of the Forest squad that takes on Derby in the FA Women’s National League North on Sunday, with the East Midlands derby getting prime billing at the famous stadium.
The American combines her role as a key player in the Forest side with a marketing job at the club, having moved to England in January.
Her role has given her insight into the atmosphere at the City Ground, with the men’s side returning to the Premier League this season, and she is looking forward to getting in on the action.
“It’s my first time playing at the City Ground so I think for me personally it is going to be a great opportunity to play in front of our fans,” she told the PA news agency.
“I get goosebumps when I am sitting there and listening to Mull of Kintyre. Obviously I know it is not going to be 29,000 fans there but I think it is going to be amazing.
“It is going to be a different experience. I am excited and up for it. We all are too. It will be good, hopefully a win and three points.”
Mitchell, whose dad Khari is a former NFL player for the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans, has a successful pedigree in America, having won the National Championships with Boston.
She is studying for a Masters degree at Florida State University via an online course and is gaining great experience helping the club’s profile soar in the wake of the men’s promotion.
“I am content executive, which has been really cool, seeing the ins and outs in the office side of things and then being able to perform on the pitch,” she said.
“It is a really unique opportunity so I am very grateful. I came over in January and it worked out there was an opportunity for me to join the marketing team and that shifted to a more prominent role as time has passed on, but it has been really cool.”
Mitchell, a striker, has chosen a good time to be in England, with the popularity of the women’s game on an exponential rise following the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 glory in the summer.
She added: “It has been a lot more popular in the States so being able to come over here and see first-hand the shift from people knowing about women’s football to people supporting it a lot more has been really cool, especially since England won the Euros.
“The Euros has really paved a great opportunity for women footballers in this country. It is amazing that these doors keep opening up for women players and players that are aspiring to play professionally.
“It is really great to have representation in a sport that for so long in this country was deemed only a men’s sport.”
And although she has only been in England less than a year, it has not taken long for her to cotton on to the feeling between Forest and Sunday’s opponents.
“I feel the energy around the game, the long history between Derby and Forest, it is a really good opportunity so I think it will be a great game,” she said.
“The women also feel the rivalry to a certain degree, I think it is embedded in the relationship between the two clubs. It is going to be a great day.”
