Mary Phillip: The ex-England captain who’s transforming men’s football

It’s rare to see a woman coaching in men’s football, let alone a woman who has 65 international caps and 22 major trophies to her name.

Mary Phillip is bucking the trend, however. In fact, she has been a trailblazing force in football for years, first as a player, and now as a coach.

On her 44th birthday, GiveMeSport Women takes a look at Phillip’s pioneering career in full.

Phillip, a football fanatic from an early age, began playing for Millwall Lionesses when she was just 12-years-old. She won the FA Cup and Premier League Cup with the club, before earning a move to Fulham in 2000.

At the time, Fulham were the only team offering professional contracts to players – Phillip was among the group of 16 who become the UK’s first full-time female footballers.

She soon became the club captain at Fulham, and lifted the 2003 FA Cup in front of 10,000 fans at Selhurst Park. In total, Phillip won eight titles with The Cottagers.

Her next move was to Arsenal, where she played a key part in the club’s quadruple-winning 2006-2007 season. This included victory in the UEFA Women’s Cup, now known as the Champions League.

Phillip spent four years with the Gunners, earning 12 titles in total, before ending her playing career with a season at Chelsea.

Phillip also enjoyed a successful career on the international stage, despite spending four years out of the England set-up while she gave birth to her two sons.

In fact, she played at her first Women’s World Cup while four months pregnant. At 18, it was an unexpected call-up, but Phillip went on to make 65 caps and appear at the 2007 World Cup too.

Phillip captained England on a number of occasions, becoming the women’s national team’s first ever black captain. She revealed to BBC Sport in