Picture this… 

It’s a Tuesday morning. You’re getting ready for work, and you receive a WhatsApp message from your mum. 

“Why’s there an article of you in The Sun with a bikini on?” 

The article includes screenshots of your Instagram, and the writer includes comments from your social media like, “The view from behind looks nice too.”

But that’s not all. You search your name online, and you see countless articles with these headlines… 

• “Glam footballer joins no-bra clubs and sends fans wild.”

• “Glam footballer stuns in tiny leopard-print bikini.”

• “Stylish football star thrills fans with pictures in leather corset.”

Yup. That’s Gabriella Howell’s reality. 

While she sees the funny side of these articles, I spoke to her last week about the realities of playing football as a woman. 

So, buckle up, here’s what she had to say…  

Growing up

These days, there is a clear career path for girls wanting to become a professional footballer. 

But, when Gabby was growing up, this couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

Aside from the taboo around girls playing football, there was little funding and women’s football wasn’t taken seriously by even the biggest clubs in the country. 

“There were only a few academies for girls my age,” Gabby told Route One last week, “I played for Crystal Palace. It was a team run by a mum, and her daughter was the captain.”

“We might have been wearing the Palace badge on our shirts, but it felt like it was a Sunday League team.”

Despite this, Gabby refused to listen to the naysayers and wanted to follow in her older brothers’ footsteps.  

But, when Gabby was growing up, women’s football wasn’t a priority for many clubs in the UK. 

“I’ve been at clubs where women aren’t seen as a priority. Sometimes, even the boy’s academy had priority over the women’s team, regardless of how well we were playing.”

If a girl wanted to become a professional, the only viable option was to go to the United States (US). 

“They have so many scholarships and more women’s teams. ‘Soccer’ has been the main sport for women in the US for a while, so we have some catching up to do.” 

With little funding for the women’s game in the UK, many current Women’s Super League (WSL) players followed this path. Arsenal star Alessia Russo is one that Gabby mentioned to me. Russo had captained Chelsea’s development squad, but by the time she was 16, she moved to the US to play college soccer, joining ACC team North Carolina Tar Heels. 

“I have massive respect for the women who have paved the way for girls to see a career path in football. When I was growing up, women’s football was just seen as a hobby.”

When I asked Gabby whether she wished to have followed a similar path as Russo, she admitted she “regrets” not doing so.  

Understandably, however, leaving your family to travel across the world for an uncertain career path isn’t exactly an easy choice. 

Nevertheless, Gabby, now 24 years old, plays right-back for Dartford Womens after a successful spell at Sutton United. 

Unwanted attention

Gabby has a large Instagram following of over 238,000, more than most professional WSL players. 

She admits that most of her following is a result of the press attention she receives around the way she looks, but worries that it impacts her football negatively. 

“The headlines they write about me mean that sometimes my football isn’t taken seriously,” Gabby told me. 

“I don’t play football to get comments about my appearance, but I understand why people talk about it. It also happens in the men’s game.” 

Despite the negative comments she receives on her football content, Gabby feels that it’s important for female footballers to show their personalities online. It’s not something that she recommends for everyone but, in her view, it could be a tactic to help grow the women’s game. 

“Personality in sports is a big thing. Most of the time, people aren’t adored just because they’re good at football. People fall in love with personalities.” 

Gabby added, “Take Ella Toone at the Euros. Lots of people would say she was their favourite player. Yet, a lot of the time she didn’t start the game - though she had a massive impact - but it goes to show how important having hilarious personalities is for the growth of the women’s game.”

Whilst playing for Sutton United, Gabby also attracted a following to their home games. 

Most of the time, she loves interacting with Sutton fans and any of her followers after the game. Young girls attend to take pictures with Gabby and like to discuss their ambitions to become footballers one day.

Sometimes, though, the interactions can be - umm - weird. After one game for Sutton, Gabby was approached by a middle-aged man.

“I’ve come all the way from Manchester,” the man said. “I’ve seen your TikToks, and I’ve come to watch you play.”

But, let’s just say that Gabby had plans that night which meant she couldn’t stick around… 

“I felt so bad!” 

Promising signs

Gabby has used the attention she gathered for her looks to help raise awareness of the obstacles girls and women face in the game. 

Gabby was the inspiration behind eight-year-old Ella Barber’s book Ella Plays Football, a story about Ella’s football journey as a young girl. Not only was Gabby one of the main characters in the book, but she also helped to promote it through her social media. 

Positively, she’s seeing a change in online attitudes towards women. 

“Since the Euros, I don’t get as many sexist comments on my social media anymore. There has been a massive change,” she said. 

“I credit the women who are showcasing their skills at these international events as they’re helping to reshape the narrative around women’s football.”

So, while Gabby admits that being a “glam” footballer has its drawbacks, it also has its place in drawing attention to the women's game, as well as encouraging future generations to pursue their dreams.