The She Kicks Locker Room: Captain’s Chat with Jade Richards

Aston Villa’s captain, claret and blue through and through, made her debut for the club at seventeen and now leads it as well as coaching its Girls’ Football Academy. Jade Richards describes herself as the motivating type, encouraging and praising to get the best out of everyone, and says she has learned from a succession of different Villa captains that no one style is right. Her proudest moment is this season, watching how far the team has come and leading them out. She does not talk much in the changing room, saving it for the huddle, and stresses that leadership at Villa is shared with senior players rather than concentrated in the armband. The job, she says, is an around-the-clock duty whether or not you are wearing the badge.