Euro 2022: Viral newspaper article reveals Ellen White was banned from football as girl

Ellen White is the Lionesses’ top scorer of all time, but a newspaper article from 1998 has revealed that she was once banned from playing football as a nine-year-old. 

The striker was part of the England side that won the Euro 2022 Final at Wembley on Sunday, after beating Germany 2-1.

White started every match for Sarina Wiegman’s side at the tournament this summer, scoring twice in six matches. 

Having made her England debut back in 2010, White has since scored 52 goals in 113 appearances for the national side. 

Currently, she is second on England’s all-time list of scorers, one behind Wayne Rooney and needs just two goals to overtake the former Man United star. 

The 33-year-old has been named England’s International Player of the Year on three occasions, in 2011, 2018 and 2021. 

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White was originally spotted by Arsenal scouts when she was just eight years old, after playing for Aylesbury Town juniors and scoring more than 100 goals. 

She attended the Grange School in Aylesbury and played for the boys’ team because the school did not have a girls side. 

However, she was prevented from playing in a local league for boys in Buckinghamshire, which led The Bucks Herald newspaper to publish a front-page article on September 23rd, 1998. 

In the article, White can be seen in an Arsenal kit and a caption reads that she “scored 100 goals last season.” 

The piece leads with the headline: “Soccer girl banned by league for boys,” while the sub-heading says: “Ellen is only nine and can’t fathom why she can’t play football.” 

One of her former teachers at The Grange stressed her love for all sports, particularly football. 

“At the time Ellen was at the school we did not have girls football