
There was a very special moment in England women’s football last night, when star winger Rachel Yankey made her 100th appearance for the national side. She certainly celebrated in style, captaining the side for the match against Turkey and scoring the opening goal in a 3-0 win. That victory virtually guarantees England a spot in the play offs for next summer’s World Cup, a fantastic achievement for the women’s team. We spoke to Rachel this morning after her terrific achievement, here’s what she had to say about the special night, women’s football and being an Abba fan….
Congratulations on getting your 100th cap and captaining the side last nigth. When did you find out?
“On Thursday afternoon, before we went out to train, there was a few people who had one-to-one meetings with Hope and the coaching staff. We had a meeting about performances, and what I needed to do, and at the end Hope just said ‘you know you’ll be captain for the night and leading the team out?’ I was a little bit speechless to be honest! I didn’t expect that, but it was a nice touch.”
Were you nervous to be leading the team out?
“To be honest, I’m usually last out of the changing room, so it was a bit of a rush! I forgot that you have to be at the front as captain, so I didn’t really have chance to be nervous. Faye (White) who’s normally captain helped me out and told me what I was suppose to do.”
What did you think of the game?
“We knew that we had to go and get three points, anything less wouldn’t be good enough. We wanted to get it over and done with, and put on a bit of a performance. Although we thought we could’ve played better, the main aim was to get three points, and we did that.”
It must have been nice to get a goal as well?
“Yeah, I don’t score that many! It was nice to get one, and it was a great ball by Alex (Scott) to put me through. Luckily I didn’t really have to think about it too much, it was more of an instinctive thing, which is probably better for me!”
How does it feel to have got 100 caps?
“I’m very proud. I think I’ll fully appreciate it when I’ve stopped playing, and I’ll look back at my career. There’s only Gill Coultard who’s done it before me, I used to look up to her and she’s such a good player, so it’s pretty amazing that I’ve now passed that mark as well. I feel really honoured, and I feel like I’ve achieved something really great.”
What major changes have you seen in the game during your time playing?
‘I made my debut in 1997, so that’s 13 years in the game, it does make you think. Now, the youth system is coming on leaps and bounds, the players coming through are more advanced, and they’ve got a lot more experience. I remember when I started out, I played for the first team before I’d played Under-18s or anything like that, so it was a bit backwards in that sense.
Now, there’s different teams at different levels, so when players come into the first team it’s not such a shock. Also, no disrepect to the players back then, but when I started we didn’t really train as the players do now, there was none of the sports science that’s around today. We just used to get through games and do our own training, but now they’re treated more like athletes and it’s more professional.”

You were also the first professional female player in Britain I believe?
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been told. When I signed for Fulham, I was the first professional. Nowadays, there’s quite a few players who’ve been signed up for teams over in America, and the training facilities and the standards over there can only be good for them and the game. It’s something that needs to happen, and hopefully the Super League that’s being set up over here can do the same thing for us, and then drive on the England team.”
With this achievement under your belt, do you have any more ambitions in the game?
“Definitely, I feel I’ve still got a lot more in me. We’re that close now with being in the play-offs, I want to play and help us qualify for the World Cup. I went to the one in 2007 and that was brilliant, and I’d love to go again. I just want to play as much as a can, people have mentioned chasing Gill’s record which I think is 116 caps. That’s not my sole aim, but I do just want to keep playing.”
Here’s a couple of questions from our Facebook and Twitter friends – How did you start playing football?
‘I started playing for a boys team, after I’d played with my brother and his friends. I pretended to be a boy just to get in the team! After that I got picked by Mill Hill United who had a girl’s team, and it all went from there really. From there I went to Arsenal, then England, and then I went to play in Canada for a while, and then back here to Fulham, and so on!
When I was a kid, I just thought I was the odd one out, because I didn’t really know many girls who were into football. It was only when I went to the girl’s team that I realised just how many girls played football, and how many teams there are around.”
What advice would you give to young girls who want to play?
“I’d just say that you have to enjoy it. There’s no point playing if you’re not, because you play at your best when you enjoy it. Also, it doesn’t matter what level you’re at, you should just give it a go, because there’ll always be people along the way to help you out and give advice.”
Do you see men’s and women’s football as separate sports with different styles?
“Hopefully with the new Super League, this will be a chance to see if they can be recognised as separate sports. I think a lot of people who aren’t familiar with women’s football will compare it to men’s as that’s what they’ll know, but hopefully they’ll be able to see it in its own right. It is a different game, if you’re looking for speed and power you’re not going to get it in the women’s game, but if you watch it with an open mind you’ll see that technically it can be just as good.”
Before we spoke to Rachel, we had a look at her Wikipedia page, which included some interesting ‘facts’. We decided to ask Rachel (“I have a Wikipedia page?!”) whether there was any truth in these claims…
Claim 1: Your role model is Bob The Builder? “No!”
Claim 2: You have chicken and rice before every game? “No! I’ll eat anything.”
Claim 3: Your middle name is Abba because your mum is such a fan of the band?
“My middle name is Abba, but that’s not why! It’s because my dad is Ghanian, and it comes from there. My mum doesn’t like the fact that everyone thinks she’s an Abba fan!”
Thanks to Rachel for chatting to us today, and congratulations again on your 100 caps!