Knowing Me, Knowing You

An extended cover interview with a twist: Brighton captain Fran Kirby is questioned not by a staff writer but by her close friend and former Chelsea and Brighton teammate Maria Thorisdottir. They cover Kirby’s 2024 move to Brighton, driven mainly by wanting to be near family, and the change of mentality she set out to bring to a club that expected to lose. Kirby is candid on the pressures of image and brand-building in the modern game, on body image and fuelling in women’s football, and on the abuse she has faced since the 2015 World Cup. She reflects on an England career of 77 caps ended by non-selection for the Euros, her move into commentary, and dressing-room memories of Ji So-yun and Maren Mjelde.