After we heard that she’s been nominated for the FIFA Womens World Player Of The Year award – the third time she’s been chosen – we got on the phone to England star Kelly Smith. Here’s what she had to say about the awards, women’s football, and what she’d be doing if she wasn’t a footballer…

How does it feel to be nominated once again?

‘It’s an amazing individual accomplishment to get recognised. It’s always great to be in the top ten, but to be in the top five for three years running is a great personal achievement for myself and I’m very proud.’

Is it still exciting to be nominated?

‘I think, if anything, it’s more exciting to be nominated again. Obviously the first time I was made up and in shock, but now as I’m getting older it means more to me. It’s the biggest individual honour in world football, so to win it would be a dream come true. But just to be nominated alongside the other four girls who are all fantastic players, for me to put my name next to theirs is an amazing achievement.’

Do you think you’ve got a good chance of winning?

‘Obviously I’ve done my best this year, with my performances in the Womens Professional Soccer league and the European Championships in Finland, but it’s out of my hands. I’d love to win it, but who knows.’

How has it been returning to the USA after spending your early career there?

‘Going back a second time has been a lot easier, because I’m older and wiser, and I knew what I was getting involved in, having been involved before. I was probably a bit young and naïve the first time around, but I’m more aware of travelling and what it takes, being on a new team with new players, and settling into a new environment this time around. I was able to get straight into it, so I was playing really well at the start of the season.’

What’s it like being the English player on the team?

‘There is another English girl, Alex Scott. The rest of the team take the mickey all the time, more so for Alex because she’s a Cockney, so they really struggle to understand her speech. I have to tell Alex to speak slowly all the time, because I understand her but they can’t. It’s like she’s speaking a foreign language sometimes! We’re not actually called by our names, they just call us The Brits, which is quite fun to us.’

How do you feel your first season went?

‘I was very pleased with my performances – I got the first Player Of The Month award in the league. I started really well, but then I picked up a slight knee problem mid-way through the season, and then my playing time was hampered because of that. So next season I’m hopefully going to stay fully fit in order to fulfill my potential.’

What’s your ambitions for the forthcoming season?

‘I want to play a major part in the season – I pretty much played half of this season, so the ambition is to stay as fit and healthy as possible, to help the team (Boston Breakers) do better than last year. We’re still waiting to see who we’ll sign – there’s a draft in January, so with the new additions we should be even stronger next season.’

Looking back, how do you feel about the European Championships?

‘It was obviously brilliant to get to our first final…ever, that was a major accomplishment for the team, and we’ll have gained a lot of experience along the way. We learned a lot about tournament football, playing every few days, but obviously it was a disappointment that we didn’t win it. The team has taken great strides over the past couple of years, and World Cup qualification has started well, so hopefully we make sure that we qualify for the tournament in 2011.’

And here’s some questions that were asked by Kelly’s fans on Facebook and Twitter

What do you think about the proposed Womens Super League here in England?

‘Obviously it’s a good thing that the format of the league is changing, and it should hopefully become a bit more competitive. Arsenal run away with it nearly every year, so the challenge isn’t really there for the top clubs. Hopefully it’ll help the standard of the league, and they’re also moving it to the summer, when there’s no other football going on in England, so it should get a bit more attention.’

Were you disappointed that the European Championships weren’t shown on terrestrial television until you got to the final?

‘When you’re playing in a major tournament, obviously you hope that you’ll get as much coverage as possible, and it is frustrating because we did so well, but England as a nation didn’t find out about it until the final. We hoped that people would pick up our games, but it wasn’t until we started to do well that it got coverage. The whole Euros were covered in 2005, and since then we’ve progressed as a nation, so it was a little setback that it didn’t get as much coverage this time around.’

Do you feel that playing in America has allowed you to better showcase your ability?

‘In a way, I do feel like it has helped to showcase my ability, because I’m playing week in, week out against the best players in the world, so I feel I’ve developed as a player. Whereas in international football, you’re only meeting up now and then, so I do feel it’s better for me to be out there playing regularly.’

Do you think that the success of the WPS could be replicated elsewhere?

‘Maybe Germany, because they have the support for the women’s game over there. They’ve got the fans there, so it could be as big a success, or even more of a success, in Germany. Because of the success of the women’s national team, it gets so much attention.’

Who was your footballing hero when you were growing up?

‘Ian Wright at Arsenal. I just loved watching him play, we’re not similar players at all, but I just loved his enthusiasm, his desire and hunger. He played with such passion and enjoyment, and that’s something I’ve always admired.’

What would you be doing if you weren’t a footballer?

‘Probably a PE teacher, that’s the route I’ll probably go down when I stop playing. Or maybe a firefighter, something active. As long as I’m not stuck in an office all day.’

Would you ever consider going into management?

‘I’m currently taking my coaching badges, and I coached in Arsenal’s academy for a number of years, so I have some experience there. So that is a route that I could go down when I stop playing.’
Some interesting answers to your questions from Kelly, who we all hope is third time lucky at the awards later this month. The ceremony takes place on December 21 in Zurich, and we’ll be first to let you know the outcome.