We had the pleasure of speaking to the wonderfully talented, Birmingham winger & England international, Karen Carney. Since making her senior debut in 2005, Carney has made 99 appearances for England, including games at the 2005 and 2009 European Championships and the World Cup in 2007 and 2011. She also competed with the Great Britain team in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Karen is preparing for her upcoming game against Germany where 55,000 tickets have already been sold, making the game a sell out at Wembley. Having already scored against Germany back in 2009, we are sure Karen can fly the flag and add another goal to her tally!
Karen said,
“there is huge anticipation around the Germany game, everyone is very excited. It will be a tough game, we just hope the fans enjoy it.”
We are sure they will, especially if England’s previous fixtures are anything to go by! England have scored 52 goals in their last 10 games, including a 10–0 demolition of Montenegro in which Karen scored two of the goals.
Some people actively get involved in football because of a parent who loves the game or because they are in a group of friends that regularly played. Karen was a bit different, as she explained,
“I actually only got into Football at the age of 7 or 8, oddly, it felt like football picked me rather than the other way round!”
It appears Karen fell in love with the game quite early on, and although she had a fondness for the sport, she knew she’d have to put effort into her talent.
“My Mum always said, “hard work always pays off” it’s the best piece of advice I ever received.”
Football has always played a huge role in Karen’s life, reminiscing fondly of her favourite game as a child,
“I remember as a child going to watch the Blues (Birmingham FC) at Wembley and seeing them win the Auto Windscreen Final. It was an incredible experience. My favourite thing about being a footballer is match day”
We spoke to Karen about the development of grassroots football and the importance of continuing with the growing participation figures,
“The most important thing to do is to just enjoy yourself and don’t put any pressure on it. Three things, have fun, have fun & have fun”
Music to our ears, Karen! One of Little Kickers' main aims is to provide a pressure free environment within our classes, where the first thing children learn is a love of the game. Hopefully this will continue to develop as our Little Kickers grow up, and will result in a love of sport which will stay with them for life.
‘A simple message to all the Little Kickers out there? Have fun and enjoy playing!’
We’d like to wish Karen all the best for her upcoming games, especially in the fast approaching England international against Germany.
Good luck Karen and the rest of the team!