A LIONESSES superfan who coached England’s Chloe Kelly as an 11-year-old now spends more than £4,000 a year supporting the women’s squad.
Sports physiotherapist Zoe Bleach, 42, first met Chloe, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 Euros final, when she was playing at the Middlesex Centre for Excellence.
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And Zoe told of her pride that the formerly “quiet and shy” Arsenal star is an inspiration for millions of women just like her who are embracing the beautiful game.
Zoe, from Gravesend, Kent, spoke as new research from Amazon’s Chatterbox series shows a quarter of British women believe football is what the UK does best – rating it above pubs (24 per cent) humour (19 per cent) and moaning (18 per cent).
The latest findings reflect how the Lionesses success has seen a surge in the popularity of women’s football in recent years – and shone a spotlight on the game.
Zoe said: “The Lionesses winning the Euros has catapulted women’s football in this country into the stratosphere. It’s so nice to watch men and women supporting our girls, as well as the male teams.
“I have watched both for years, but to be able to watch women’s football on ITV, BBC, mainstream channels feels very special. This is what I wanted since I was 15, and now I’ve finally got it at 42 years old.
“The women’s team have all worked so hard. They had a passion when they were kids and they’ve managed to get all the way through to where they are now. They 100 per cent deserve it.
“I worked with Chloe for two years, and she was such a quiet little kid. She wouldn’t say boo to a goose. If you spoke to her, she would almost be quite frightened.
“She was a really nice kid, from a lovely family, and a decent player – even at 11 – but I wouldn’t have looked at her then and said she would be who she is today.
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“I am really proud of her. Looking back at those nights in Uxbridge, playing after school and being dragged to matches everywhere, she has worked really hard to get where she is now.
“It’s not handed to any of the girls on a plate, so they deserve it all the more.”
Kelly replaced Lauren James in the 57th minute of England’s 6-1 win over Wales on Sunday, which saw the side book a place in the quarter-finals against Sweden on Wednesday night.
Zoe – who has been obsessed with football since the age of two – spends at least £4,000 a year and uses up ten days of annual leave supporting Arsenal’s ladies team and the Lionesses.
In 2003 she travelled to the USA and embarked on a 16-hour road trip between Mississippi and Washington DC to watch England women play, and meet her idol Kelly Smith.
She and her partner Elizabeth even spent five months building a £3,000 pub in their garden – The Lionesses Den – to watch the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Zoe went on: “When there’s big tournaments, I look at the schedule and book annual leave right up to the final in the hope they get there.
“For Euro 2022 I booked tickets for most of the games including the final. My thinking was that it was going to be a great day whoever was playing in it.
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“I’ve been to Brighton twice, Southampton, Northern Ireland and to Wembley. I spent around £2,000 in total travelling to watch them and buying merchandise.
“We started building our pub in February 2023 and our goal was to finish in time for the World Cup in July – I spent every day off working on it.
“It cost us about £3,000 and we have filled with memorabilia including signed shirts from Beth Mead and Kelly Smith, signed autographs from Beth, Lucy Bronze and Mary Earps and pictures of Zoe and Leah Williamson.
“It might have been a lot to spend, but we use the pub easily once or twice a week and we love it. I don’t regret a single penny I’ve spent supporting the Lionesses.
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“And as the research from Amazon’s Chatterbox series shows, there are lots of women like me – who are having a great time supporting our football teams.”
Amazon’s Chatterbox series shines a light on the personalities and opinions of its 75,000 employees and acts as a modern-day barometer of UK opinions.
Oxford mathematician and Countdown star Dr Tom Crawford said: “The data obtained in the Amazon survey is a fascinating insight into the make-up of modern-day Britain.”
