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Schillaci: ‘Enjoy yourself, express yourself, be brave’

As the England Lionesses represent their country at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament, former Women’s Super League (WSL) player, Jenna Schillaci, has a message to any young female who’s looking to start playing football: “There are so many opportunities now!”

Now the Women’s Academy Operations Manager at Spurs, Jenna is able to provide a unique insight on the grassroots game, as well as the strengthening of the female football pathway. And she’s keen for the Lionesses’ defence of their Euros title to inspire a further generation of future players, as well as highlighting the different ways to participate off the pitch, too.

She explained: “First and foremost, have fun! Enjoy yourself, express yourself on the pitch, be brave. Whether you’re playing for fun or you want to be a professional footballer, it’s about being in love with what you do and knowing that, if you make it as a footballer, amazing. If you don’t, there are so many more opportunities now in the game of football for females, for girls, whether it be coaching, managing, physiotherapy, strength and conditioning.”

Schillaci now also undertakes a variety of media commitments, with BBC Sport and 5Live Extra co-commentaries as well as appearances on Sky Sports and talkSPORT, amongst other media agencies. Jenna’s career so far has been at the forefront of the evolution of the female pathway.

She spoke during a keynote speech to Essex County FA staff on Wednesday 2nd July, featuring a background on her journey from grassroots to the pro game, and the successes, motivations and stories from her sporting career to date. She detailed how women’s football has progressed during this time, plus the resilience she had to show to reach the highest levels of the sport.

Jenna feels women’s football has progressed a great deal during the time she’s been involved: “I’ve seen it from grassroots, where there was little investment, no visibility, no exposure of the women’s game. When I started out, I didn’t even know women’s football existed because I couldn’t turn the TV on and see it. We’re now at a stage where you can turn the TV on at the weekend and watch your favourite team. You can get down to the local games to watch your favourite players.

“And young players have really positive female role models, whether it be footballers or female athletes, which is incredible. Lots of change, lots of progress, lots of investment now. So, we’re seeing now WSL players getting the investment, the resources that they deserve to be able to perform on their biggest stages. I think now the game’s in a totally different place where there’s role models everywhere, really positive ones that young girls can look up to and aspire to be one day.”