Born Kicking: Maria-May Millington

Maria-May Millington is twelve, based in Derby, and answers to Mimi or, on the pitch, Safehands – or, at full length, MimisafehandsMillington. She has recently secured a place with the Derby regional talent club’s Under-14s and plays in goal because it is exciting, challenging and a position from which she can change a game. The player she would most like to meet is Arsenal’s Bernd Leno; the ones she would most like to play alongside are Hannah Ward and Sarah Morgan of Derby County Women, both pictured with her. She describes herself as loud, safehands and supportive, always smacks her gloves together before a match and jumps to touch the crossbar, and counts having a chant written for her by the Derby match commentator as the funniest thing that has happened to her in football.