The one-on-one shooting drills have concluded, the coaches are collecting the footballs and maybe some of the watching parents are keen to get back inside in the warm, but none of these young players want to go anywhere just yet. A long, eager queue has formed. They all want their picture taken first with the England forward Lauren James.
“Sometimes I forget how many people look up to me,” says James, pleasantly surprised, after helping out with the grassroots session at Worcester Park in south-west London. Perhaps it is also easy for the rest of us to forget that the Chelsea No 10, who has played 24 times for the Lionesses, only recently turned 23.
James is friendly yet rather shy, appearing slightly nervous as she sits down inside one of the ground’s wooden dugouts for an exclusive interview. It is evident she enjoys putting on a performance in front of tens of thousands of people in a stadium more than holding a microphone. On Sunday, another performance will be expected as Chelsea meet Tottenham at Kingsmeadow. On this Tuesday afternoon, however, a jovial and happy James talks freely.
Happy, first because she has got a new puppy, a male cockapoo called Waffle – “a puppy is probably harder than a kid,” jokes James, who has grown up with dogs. And because she has just helped Chelsea win at the Emirates Stadium for the first time in the Women’s Super League, continuing their 100% winning start under their new manager, Sonia Bompastor.
Nikita Parris’s header ended her old club Manchester United’s 100% start to the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
Marc Skinner’s side took the lead through Grace Clinton’s third goal of the campaign in the 10th minute, and the England midfielder was within inches of scoring again four minutes later when she struck the bar.
Brighton subsequently hit back seven minutes into the second half as Parris, who was United’s top-scorer last term before moving on to the Seagulls on transfer deadline day, nodded beyond Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
It was the first time the goalkeeper had been beaten this season, having kept clean sheets in each of the three wins with which the Red Devils had begun the season.
Opposite number Sophie Baggaley, another former United player, made some good saves, including late on to deny Elisabeth Terland, who moved the other way in the summer. PA Media
“Sometimes change can go one of two ways but it’s been good so far; I’m happy and Chelsea are happy,” James says of the impact the Frenchwoman has made at the club since replacing the long-serving Emma Hayes. James says it has taken the squad no time to adapt to their new coaching team. “She’s very focused, passionate and direct. Sonia is just bringing in her qualities and adding it to our own qualities. Hopefully with the combination of those, we can achieve good things. Hopefully we can try to win the Champions League.”
Taking that next step to lift an elusive first European title is a target that nobody at Chelsea has been coy about this season, and would be a dream come true for James, who has achieved no shortage of success at the club since her 2021 switch from Manchester United, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2023 and being named as Chelsea’s Player of the Year last season after retaining the Women’s Super League title. Behind the scenes, it has not been as easy as it looks, though.
James has been on the receiving end of sickening racist abuse online on multiple occasions. She is determined to rise above it and let those horrible experiences fuel her on the pitch. “I just try to let my feet talk and hopefully let my success do that,” James says. “Having the right support network around you helps you keep on track and try to block out the noise. Family and friends, they just keep you on the ground and keep your head sane.”
James is speaking after a McDonald’s Fun Football session, having this year become an ambassador for the programme that delivers free coaching to children aged five to 11. In 2024 the programme adjusted its centre locations to ensure that 80% of the lowest income urban areas in the UK have access to the sessions, and James wanted to get involved to be a “role model to kids who have barriers”. She says: “It’s nice to see kids smiling and having access. It’s inclusive and, no matter what your background is, you can play football, and it’s a step closer to people being able to reach their dreams.”
That desire to help youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds was also behind James’s launch of her LJ10 scholarship scheme in September, which provides help to aspiring players from diverse backgrounds. “For kids that have potential or aren’t getting seen or have barriers, perhaps not being able to fund kit or get to training, I’ve been pleased to support them,” she says.
James knows football still has lots of work to do around diversity but says: “It’s going in the right direction. There still can be improvements, but I do think it’s on the right track.” The more success she has, the more she hopes to inspire, especially with the Lionesses, pointing to substantial increases in girls playing football after England’s triumph at the European Championship in 2022.
James was yet to make her international debut when that tournament on home soil came around, injuries in the 2021-22 season meaning it came too soon for her. That is giving her more determination to be an important player at next summer’s Euros in Switzerland.
James watched the 2022 final at Wembley against Germany from the stands as a fan, five weeks before her Lionesses debut, and says: “It was hard but at the same time I was happy that they did that, because it changed football. Hopefully, I can be at the next one.”
England meet Germany at Wembley again on Friday in a friendly as they step up their preparations to defend their title, and James says the squad are all driven by the pain of losing 2023’s World Cup final against Spain.
“To get so close to winning a World Cup and then not being able to achieve it, there’s a lot of emotion in the moment. But that’s football and you need to move on to the next opportunity. It’s not that it doesn’t hurt – of course it does – but all you can control is the next game, the next performance and the next opportunity to win another trophy.
“I know what that winning feeling feels like and I want to be able to do that with England. The Euros is a massive opportunity for the team to repeat what they did in 2022, and we’re all massively motivated to make another piece of history.”
