August 12, 2025 • 35 mins
England national team and Chelsea left back Niamh Charles joins Sarah to talk burying her penalty kick en route to the Lionesses’ European championship trophy and the epic celebrations that followed. She also gives a pro’s breakdown of the club and country landscape across the pond, raves about Chelsea teammate Naomi Girma and explains why her family is always partying without her. Plus, results from the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, USA Lacrosse wins gold, and the PWHL partners up with an American icon and a Canadian staple.
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- Read Sabreena Merchant's story on the scheduling of the Lynx-Liberty games here
- Details on the PWHL's collab with Tim Hortons and Barbie can be found here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're bowing
down to Asia Wilson once again doing something no one's
ever done, first WNBA player with a thirty point twenty
rebound game magic. It's Tuesday, August twelfth, and on today's show,
we'll be talking to niph Charles of Chelsea and the
England national team. We chat with her about the Lionesses
(00:21):
winning Euros last month, how happy she is to have
Naomi Germa on her club team, whyatt took her a
minute to warm up to playing soccer, and why cardboard
cutout Neve might be having even more fun than the
real version. Plus rebounding with a tumble, taking revenge on Canadians,
and a WNBA scheduling conundrum that has us asking why
(00:42):
it's all coming up Right after this welcome back slices,
here's what you need to know today. Let's start with
gymnastics and the US Gymnastics Championships in New Orleans. Louisi
Hesley Rivera won the all around title, finishing eight tenths
(01:04):
of a point ahead of two time Olympic alternate Leanne Wong,
who plays second Rivera, who won team gold at last
summer's Paris Olympics. Was the only member of that US
Olympic team to compete at Nationals this year. With the win,
the seventeen year old becomes the youngest US all around
champion since Reagan Smith won in twenty seventeen. Rivera also
won apparatus titles on balance beam, floor, and uneven bars.
(01:28):
While the US team for October's World Championships won't be
named until the fall, Rivera's performance at Nationals should earn
her a roster spot, so long as she stays consistent
and healthy between now and the team selection event. Speaking
of healthy, other highlights from the Gymnastics Championships include Sky Blakely,
who was competing in her first elite meet in fourteen months,
(01:48):
tying Rivera for the uneven bars title and finishing second
on balance beam. You remember, Blakely was initially considered a
favorite to make last year's Olympic team, but tore her
achilles two days ahead of Olympic trials and ended up
spending the last year plus rehabbing the injury. To lacrosse.
Team USA won gold at the World Games in China
on Monday, defeating rival Canada sixteen to eight in the
(02:11):
championship game. It marked a bit of revenge for the
US national team after they suffered a rare defeat to
Canada in the gold medal game of the twenty twenty
two World Games three years ago. This competition featured a
six's format that's the same format that'll be used when
lacrosse makes its Olympic debut at the twenty twenty eight
LA Games. All told, the US outscored its opponents one
(02:32):
hundred twenty nine to fifty across five games in China,
with captain Marie McCool leading the way with twenty total
goals to hoops. There are two WNBA games tonight. First up,
the Dallas Wings traveled to the Indiana Fever for a
seven to thirty start. Wings are coming off a ninety
one seventy eight loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday
that saw Rookie of the Year candidates Kiki eria Fen,
(02:53):
Sonya Citron, and Paige Beckers all doing work at the
same time. Erie Fens scored a career high twenty three
points and grabbed ten rebounds in that one. Citron scored
seventeen of her eighteen points in the second half, and
Becker scored seventeen points, her twenty fifth game scoring in
double digits to start a career that's tied for fourth
place in WNBA history with Ruthy Bolton. These rookies continue
(03:15):
to impress. Then, at ten PM tonight, the Los Angeles
Sparks host the New York Liberty. Sparks are coming off
a thrilling ninety four to ninety one win over the
Seattle Storm on Sunday that saw Deerica Hamby score seven
of LA's final nine points, including the winning three point
play with five point six seconds left. Sparks have now
won nine of their last eleven games. As for the Liberty,
(03:38):
you might recall it in Monday Show we told you
about how the Minnesota Links are currently in the middle
of three straight games against the Liberty, including Sunday's eighty
three seventy one Links win. Well, the Liberty do have
those three games, plus a couple in between, including tonight's
contest at the Sparks and another away game on Wednesday
against the Las Vegas Aces. So what's the deal with
the Liberty and Links taking so long to play their
(04:00):
first game? Then the Link's playing them three times in
a row. And the Liberty having two extra games in
the midst of those three. With the links, well, we'll
link to a great story by the athletic Sabrina Merchant
that helps try to tease apart this whole scheduling debacle.
We got to take a quick break. When we come back,
We're chuffed to bits to have a cheeky chat with
Brent Neve Charles. We got up with their last week
(04:23):
a bit of a chin wag, you know, talking bits
and Bob's that's next joining us now. She's a left
back for the England national team and Chelsea of the
Women's Super League. She's a five time Women's Super League winner,
four time FA Cup winner, two time League Cup winner
(04:43):
and a Champions League runner up. She helped England to
a runner up finish to Spain in the twenty twenty
three World Cup, and just last month her team avenged
that World Cup loss as she buried her penalty shot
to help them defeat the Spaniards and win the Euros.
It's Neve Charles, Hi, Neve, Wow, thank you Hi. I
want to start with the basics for our listeners who
maybe aren't familiar with the leagues across the Pond. So
(05:04):
you're a Champions League runner up, move's in the Champions League.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So the Champions League is a selection of all the
top teams from the European league. So I think it
changes each year, but I think in the English game
we have three teams that have the chance to qualify
and then go into the group stages and then all
the top teams around Europe they all come together and
now it's in a group stage format and any sort
of yeah, compete to be named Champions of Europe.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And then you're a four time FA Cup winner. What
teams are eligible for that?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The FA Cup is like it's so traditional in the
English game. It's like any team whatever division in England
can sort of start in the FA Cup. Obviously the
lower leagues they start earlier and it goes rounds and
the higher leagues come in later. But the beauty of
the FA Cup is you could be in the lowest
league and have an unbelievable FA Cup run and be
playing one of the top teams and yeah, then your
(05:57):
crowns sort of the FA Cup Champions oving England. But
it's it's a really traditional sort of competition and yeah,
it's just some fairy tale stuff in England.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And then you're a five time WSL winners. So which
teams play in the WSL.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Changes each year with relegation and stuff, but there's, yeah,
the top teams in the UK that you can think of,
so Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool like all
of the from the north to south. And then there's
relegation obviously, so some teams come up and down. But yeah,
there's eight to twelve teams. I think the league's increasing,
(06:32):
but yeah, we all play during the season and then yeah,
thankfully I've won it a few times.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
That's kind of England's and WSL.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah for sure. But I think the way we do
it is it's definitely like you just get named the champions,
whereas in America, I know, there's like the League the Shields.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Also, yeah, we have the final game. Yeah, yeah, we're
really into the one game to decide all kind of thing. Yeah,
a little bit more over here, okay, and the Euros
and the champions are not the same because the Euros
is for national teams and the Champions League is for clubs.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah correct, Okay, all right, now that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
We got all that, and let's talk about the Euros.
You've got this incredible run with Team England. We saw
the huge numbers online, we saw some of the cool
activations from AFAR, like the street lights changing in Basel, Switzerland,
but you felt it. So what was it like in
person to play in what is now broken all the
records for attendance and interest for this tournament?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, it was incredible. I think year on year you
do expect to get bigger and bigger, and that's credit
to sort of the work that everyone's done with the
women's game. But I think to be out there in
Switzerland for the whole tournament and to sort of see
the appetite for it and the excitement no matter where
we were in Switzerland, and to also see every other
nations sort of home support, and sort of how that compared.
Like the game we played against Wales, which is a
(07:53):
big rival. Really the atmosphere there and obviously the Welsh
verson of the English and the fans and it all
traveled across and even before the game my family were
telling me stories of the fan park and it was
just the atmosphere semed electric and it was a full
sort of day out, which I know the Americans do
very well.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So your team came from behind on several occasions during
the tournament, and I wonder if you think experience in
previous tournaments prepared you to be able to fight back
when you were trailing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I think that's the spirit we have in the team.
And we sort of said before the final as well,
we've done it so many times to the tournament that
the opposition, no matter if we're losing, they always have
that in the back of the mind now that we've
done it time and time again, and I think we
feel that within the team, but also we know the
opposition feel that as well, that we're never down and
out in a game, and that mental side sort of
plays into it that, yeah, we're never done. And I
(08:40):
think we've shown that we have it in us multiple
times to do it, and I think we really played
on that and we're lucky enough to be able to
do it a few times.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Yeah, you came on late in the final and major PK.
I want to know what's going on in that moment.
Do you repeat a mantra, do you focus on breathing,
do you try to like look where you're not going
to kick it?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I think in that moment, you like you can get
so caught up in the emotions of it. I knew
my family were there, I knew a lot of people
were watching. Obviously your whole country's watching, and I think
if you sort of spiral on that, it becomes so big.
And I think we'd really prepared for that moment as
a team and as an individual that it was very
much the mantra was sort of, just do your job.
It takes the emotion out of it. Do your job,
(09:21):
which is to walk up and to sort of bury it.
And I think that helped me to take the emotion
out of it and really focus on my process of
walking up there, where I placed the ball, what part
of the ball, and then walking back referee whistle, and
then it's not sort of it's sort of owning that moment,
not going when the referee tells you to do. It
was definitely like I take a deep breath, go when
I'm ready, And we'd sort of worked on that a
(09:43):
lot in train and obviously you can never recreate it,
but it definitely helped.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I hear that so much from elite athletes now, and
I look back at my collegiate career and think, like
I wish someone would have told me that to think
of it as like, it's just the same thing you
do every day. I did the opposite. I was like,
this is the biggest moment of your life, like, and
I now that that was like completely counterproductive and it
was not how I should have done it. So if
anyone out there is listening, that's still playing, whereas kids
(10:07):
who are playing, like, get that message across of you've
done it a million times, it's the same as what
you've always done. I really could have used that. After
your team won, your teammate Lucy Brons revealed she'd been
playing on a broken tibbia. But of course she told
the BBC after it's very painful, but I'm being a party,
what a legend, Like, I assume all of you knew
(10:28):
that behind the scenes what she was struggling with.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Yeah, we obviously knew that, but credit to Lucy's she's
so good at making it about the team and keep
going that you would never know unless you knew sort
of things. So, yeah, we knew that she'd been doing
it for a while, and I think when people found out,
they were like, if anyone could do it, Lucy could
do it, And yeah, for her to play with that
much pain and to be able to put in performances
that she did. If anyone could do it, it would be Lucy.
(10:53):
So I think it's just epitomizes who she is as
a person.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It was a hell of a party too, It was
worth her powering through. You had doubled acker, buses, burn
a boy. There were throngs of people everywhere with the
face pain and the flags and everything. What was your
favorite moment from that parade day.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think there was a moment we all sort of
came and we saw the buses and we saw the
amount of people before we turned into the Male which
is just in front of Booking and Palace, and I
think we saw that crowd and thought, oh my god.
And then it just turning the corner and sort of
seeing everyone. It was so so special And I had
a moment afterwards where I sort of said to someone
(11:28):
I came down here with my family as a child
and had a photo in front of this monument in
front of Buckingham Palace, and now to be here doing that, yeah,
with like it's sort of shut down for us. It
was a pinch me moment, and yeah, having enough family
there as well, right in front of it was just
fairy tale stuff.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
It's funny too, because from over here in the States,
I think of Buckingham Palace as like it's only for
official royal business. You know, you can't make the guards laugh.
I'm sure that's kind of like what foreigners think about.
When the US women's national team gets a ticker tape
parade in downtown New York, You're like, wait, that's New
York City that doesn't shut down for anything. But that's
how big these moments are, and that's how much you
could feel a part of the city that you're in,
(12:06):
in the country that you're from, when everybody rallies around you.
Back when the US women won the World Cup in
twenty nineteen, we got some solid live streams from a
couple players over the course of several days. We saw
them partying on bars at two am and pulling their
bodies out of beds hung over to go do national
TV shows and then go back and lay by the pool.
What was the length of party time for y'all? How
(12:27):
many days did we keep this celebration going?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
I think we parted hard in Switzerland. That was with
like close friends and family in the hotel and then
carried it on to the next day as well. We
had some sort of you got a lock in for
some official business sort of thing, and then yeah, we
had a really nice sort of moment just as players.
We went for dinner and went obviously went out, and
that was a really nice moment to sort of let
loose after a long time together, the feeling that you'd
(12:51):
want and been able to celebrate, and then the parade again,
and then by the end of that, I think we
were all absolutely naked, like we really played hard and
went hard, and that's exactly what you sort of arn't
that moment. I think it was just it was so
nice to be able to share those memories and moments
with the people that you'd sort of done that amazing
thing with.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I want to go back to the beginning, because you
got all the way to where you are beginning at
the West Kirby wasps. Tell us how you got started
playing footy and tell me about that team.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, so I started. Obviously, there weren't women's girls teams
when I was growing up, so I went to a
local boys team with my best friend. And I don't
remember this moment, but my family always tell me that
my first coach was called Norman and I was pitchfied
of and went down to the session, was crying, wouldn't
let go of my dad's leg. And now to think
what I'm doing now at the moment, I said, you
(13:40):
just didn't leave my leg for the whole session, but
then once you went, I couldn't get you back. And
that's sort of the start of the sort of love
affair of having football. I guess it was. It wasn't
necessarily my family, It was just my pure love for
the game that once I got over that first hurdle,
I just was hooked and yeah, just couldn't couldn't get
enough of it.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You mentioned playing on boys team, you know, I was
fascinated to learn. I don't know what it was five
or six, seven years ago that women's pro football was
banned in England for fifty years from the nineteen twenties
until the seventies. And I actually use that example all
the time in the speeches and Ted Talk type things
I do about women's sports, talking about how we need
(14:18):
to understand that there was intention behind holding women back
in order to understand the context of the recent growth
that it required people being able to attend and play
and grow up seeing it. So you were obviously born
decades after women's footy returned in the early nineteen seventies.
Did you hear much about the band growing up or
was there an awareness of why women's footy was smaller
(14:39):
than men's in the country.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I think growing up less so. But I think before
we went to the Olympics as a GB squad, we
had a really nice moment where we had someone come
in whose sort of job was to research that, and
she should have shared all the personal stories of people
from back then and how it sort of happened that
women's football was banned because it was so successful. The
appetite was there even at that point, and that was
(15:04):
sort of the reaction that was banned for fifty years.
But it was so inspired to hear that actually, all
that time ago, it had such an appetite and it
was yeah, everyone loved it, but also an understanding of Okay,
this is why we are where we are, and we
know that we can get there, but we are fifty
years behind. We have had a lot of barriers put
in our way. So I think it was inspiring to
(15:26):
know the story and to know what we're sort of
fighting for and where we can get to, and also
an understanding of why we are behind and how much
work we have to put in to sort of get
it to where we know it can go.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And also a warning a bit the idea that it
was thriving and popular. There were so many people that
wanted to play and wanted to watch and attend, and
there was a desire to keep that from happening, and
to understand that in this current moment where the growth
feels like it's a rocket ship and the only way
to go is up, to keep an eye out for
the people who are wanting to hold it back, for
(16:00):
the bad actors who want to prevent women from being
empowered and in their bodies and participating. You know, in
December of last year, I saw you were on hand
for this Neave Charles pitch opening at the Bidston Sports
and Activity Center. What did that mean to you? And
tell me how you came to get your own pitch.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
That was such a full circle moment for me because
I actually grew up playing at those pitches and it
was sort of the hat out of my week and
looking forward to training going down there, and that was
at my World Cup final every week, so to go
back there and to have a pitch that was named
after me, and to know how much it gives priority
to girls and women access to play football first and
(16:41):
to know how much that would mean for the local
community and hopefully how much that will help other people
to get to where I am and further, I think
it was really special for me and my family, and
it was done because the government provided a grant for
every Lion S's player amazing just sort of give back
to their local community. So all across the UK we
all got pictures named after us, which is a massive
(17:03):
thing for the women's game.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
I think that's so cool. Was the grant based on
the Euros win or was it on the runner up finish?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I think it was based on the squad that was
in the Euros and in the World Cup, so any
player that was in that squad was eligible for the
grant and sort of give back to their local community.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's really cool. So you played for Liverpool for several
years before you signed with Chelsea in twenty twenty. Emma
Hayes was the manager of Chelsea at the time and
switched your position. What was your very first response, not
the one after you're like, let me think this through
and see if this will be good for me, or
I trust Emma the very first response when she was
like I'm going.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
To move you denial. I remember before she sort of
had the conversation with me, some of the teammates were
joking about it with me and they were like, they've
been here for a while and they were like, it's going
to happen. Even I sort of denied it, but it
sort of happened by chance with an injury we had it.
Sort of I got shoehorned into that. So it probably
delayed the response of actually your changing position. It was
(17:59):
more of a needs must for the team. But I think, yeah,
Emma was brilliant with me, gave me so much trust
and guidance, and actually I think it really plays to
ma strengths and she's a wise woman. She she knows
exactly what she's doing. So yeah, I did trust her.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, life lesson too, maybe, speaking of Chelsea, how's our
girl Naomi Germa? We miss her over here? You guys
stole her.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yeah, she's my sis, like she I'm so happy we
signed her and I'm so happy she came. I think
she is an unbelievably talented player, not just in what
she does with the football, but I think the leadership
quality she brings and also just energy she has. She's
infectious as a person, and I think the US have
got a really good I know, she's such a leader
for them and such a sort of icon and leader
(18:41):
from the back. And I'm glad that from the domestic
game she's on my team. And yeah, when we play
against her for the US, it'll be a battle for sure,
But yeah, she is She's a top quality player and
a person.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, gonna be tough playing the Americans because it feels like,
based on social media, Katerina Marcario is one of your
besties on the team too, another American.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I do joke with her that we've sort of sat
like all of her best season now coming. And but
I think the Americans are one of the best teams
in the world, and to have so many of them
at Chelsea, it's only going to benefit us and hopefully
help us when that Champions League that we're all going after.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Do you ever talk to them about the differences between
the NWSL and WSL what stands out to you?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
We do sort of compare stories, and I think we're
also passionate about growing the women's game and how much
it is growing and how the investment's evolving. And I
think it's nice to sort of compare the mindset between
England and the mindset in America and how things are
being done similarly indifferent to make sure that we're sort
of pushing on all fronts and also that the players
(19:42):
get the best service that they can. And like we've
seen investment, I know from Alexis'hanni and coming into the
Chelsea game, which is amazing, sort of that crosspond from America,
and I think it's exciting that players are sort of
crossing over and sort of sharing that investment and hopefully
that will increase the revenue in America and in England.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, I want to talk a little bit more about
that because I feel like in the States we look
over on your end and we're like, well, these teams
get to be bullied by Premier League men's teams that
have billions of dollars, right, so they have this incredible funding,
a lot of good resources and things that stem from that.
But we also hear that here in the US because
of Title nine and because of the success of the
US women's national team that the NWSL is ahead in
(20:26):
a lot of ways in comparison. Where are the big differences.
Where do you think that you're ahead and where do
you think that maybe you're still behind.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Having not experienced both, I would say the NWSL out
is probably amazing that there're a lot of them are
standalone teams sort of that can create their own sort
of story, their own history. But then I think there's
something really special about the UK game where you can
grow up and in the past you've just supported a
men's team, but now there's very much a men's and
(20:55):
a women's team, So for boys and girls, they can
sort of look up and see people that they can
relate to, they can be them, And I think there's
strengths and weaknesses in both. But I think what I'm
really passionate about is making the women's game amazing on
its own, that we have shown that we can attract
the investment and the revenue, that it can become a
(21:16):
powerhouse in its own right. And I think in America
you're probably seeing that with the attraction of the NWSL
and how much investment's going on, which is also translating
over here. Hopefully off the back of the ears as well,
that's only going to increase, which will contribute to better
training facilities, better everything for the athletes. So at the
same time as the investment, we can create a better
product on the pitch. So hopefully year on year was
(21:39):
sort of increasing at the same rate, whether it's the
US or the UK.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, I have to admit, I'm just like a women's
footy fan, and so I really got into the US
women's national team and the NWSL. I'm nadas into the
teams across the pand so most of my view of
what's going on over there is ted Lasso and Wreckham,
which is like the most stereotypical, basic bit American view.
And of course the American players that I see go
across the teams like Chelsea, and I kind of follow
(22:03):
along with what they're doing. Do you feel like the
Americans who are getting into Premier League or maybe are
more invested in watching the Euros women's team because of
the team swaps the players that are coming over are
kind of simple in their view and understanding of football.
Or are we getting better over here?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
I've actually, funny enough, just started watching Ted last. So
I'm only on the first season, which I haven't done
for life. But it's film where I live, so's it's
crazy way Yeah, so I've been to the pub where
it's all filmed and.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Everything where you grew up or where you live now.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Where I live now, sorry, it's really near to.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
So fun yeah, so cute little places.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
It's such a quintessential English British pub book. And to
sort of see the American like crossover again, it's really
really funny. But I think what I love about the
Americans is it's almost like you're just raised to win,
your ways, to compete, your complete athletes, complete winners, and
I think think like we can learn off them, they
can probably learn off us. And I think the combination
(23:04):
of both is it's really really special and American sport
is massive, So I think if we can take that
and sort of apply that mindset in certain instances in
the UK and the women's game, then it can be
really really exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
I can only imagine the folks wandering around your town
looking for the different spots that they've seen on the show.
It's probably both fun and annoying at times. You made
your debut for the Lioness's the England national team in
twenty twenty one. Who did you invite to that very
first match and what were the nerves?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Like, well, it's crazy you asked that because it was
in COVID, So I invited absolutely no one, no. Yeah,
So it was a really weird way to make my debut,
but I like to splip it as like I made
it with the girls. It was so special. But I
also made it in a stadium really near to where
my uncle, who was like a massive football inspiration for me,
he lives, so it's kind of like it was going
(23:54):
to be anywhere. I could almost feel that they were
there with me. But it was also nice because then
when they first got seen you play for England, it
was like the second debut.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
A little bit and maybe a little fewer nerves the
second time. So yeah, for sure excited about everyone being
there for you. Speaking of nerds, you're a big advocate
for mental health and you've said it's really important to
think about it every day, just like we think about
our physical training or our technical training. Was that a
gradual journey for you to understand that or have you
always had to make that a big part of your
(24:23):
game in your life.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
It has been a gradual journey, probably because I don't
think it's maybe spoken about as much from when you're
younger as it is physical. So when I was coming
through the academy, I really remember moments where I was
fully focused on my physical strength, conditioning football. So I
was used to thinking like that, and I think it's
only now that I start to think of the mental side,
(24:46):
whereas I wish when I was younger it was spoken
about in as much value as the physical part was
and it became normal. So my hope is now that
young girls that are coming through they are it is
equal weighted and look to say, look, your physical side
of the game contributes massively, but also your mental side doesn't.
For me, it makes such a difference to my game.
(25:06):
But not only that, no matter what I'm doing, whether
it's sports, whether it's a job, or just in my life,
my mental health and for everyone, I think is something
you take care of.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, I'm always talking about this book The Body Keeps
the Score that I think is like this life changing
understanding of how our heads and our intellects are not
a separate body from the rest of us, but we
kind of consider them as such, and then understanding the
ways that what's going on in our brain and our
feelings and our anxiety might actually be gucking up the
rest of our body functioning as well as it could.
(25:36):
So that does deeply impact your play physically and your
health physically, and a lot of people don't really make
that connection. I remember being a young athlete, we would
sort of have those conversations like PMA positive mental attitude
or like visualize the race. Like we sort of talked
about it in ways that were very clearly about mental
health and sport, but we didn't name it. And I
think now being able to name it has allowed people
(25:58):
to access it a lot more and to ask for
what they need. I know Nami Germa is part of this.
Create the space. Is that something that y'all have worked
together on or talk about how you want to be
leaders about.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yeah, it's really interesting because when she came over, obviously
I'm also part of that created the space from the
UK side, join common goal, but when we sort of
came together, it was really really nice that sort of
separately we're passionate about this and we have our own
stories and reasons and motivations for it and then we
came together and share a lot of similarities and sort
of understanding about how important it is as a person
(26:31):
and as an elite athlete. And I think we've definitely
spoken about it and how yeah, like you say, it
can make a massive difference. I know you just think, oh,
it's just in my head, but it does connect to
your body, and a lot of the time your body
sort of shows you how you're feeling. And I think
we're both very aware of that and hopefully can normalize
and increase that conversation and help a lot of people
through that.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
So I was trolling your social media and I have
two important questions for you. Number One, your family celebrated
your twenty first birthday with a cardboard cut out of
you and not you. Everybody from your family together in
a house partying without you the birthday. Girl. Can you
please explain this.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I mean, I don't know whether to be so proud
of my family that they still do that or so insulted,
but yeah, it's actually happened a few times. There was
a lot of pictures on my family group chat today
and I went through and I thought, all these family
events and there's so many that I'm not in but yeah,
for my twenty first that was a particular one. My
family liked to celebrate birthdays all together. We all go
away fine this house and sort of spend the weekend
(27:31):
together and fin obviously it was planned and when I
couldn't go, I would love to go back and think
how long did they think about should we cancel it?
Should we not? But I don't think they did. They thought, well,
perfect solution, will all just go And they didn't take
just one. I actually later found out it was five
carboard cutouts, some of me as are put like in
a nice dress, some of me and a football kit,
(27:52):
and they just they all say to me, they think
it's great. We had the best time with your carboy cutouts,
Like it was better than if you were there, Like
it was just made the weekend. So yeah, they had
a great time.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Why here I assume I assume fo you got in
the way.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, I don't know what particularly, but it was definitely football.
It's always that's the one of the biggest sacrifices you make.
And yeah, we all know is how performance athletes. It's
just it is a massive, massive sacrifice and it's just
become normal to be honest.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I mean, at least one of those cardboard cutouts should
have been saved and brought to all these other events
that you also kept.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Make no, it actually has been. And so my grandma's
ninetieth birthday, they all obviously everyone was there apart from me,
so the cardboard cut got well out again. And it's
actually my parents like shoved behind my parents' wardrobe at home,
and like when I go in, it does like start
me every single time. There's just an arm and a
leg out the side of the wardrobe, which like they
(28:47):
obviously keep because again I'm going to miss something in
the future. Oh it can come back.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Like it, I like, and you're you're preserved at the
age of you know, twenty years old. Yeah, that's true
when they took the photos, so you know, especially if
they keep using in a family photo, was everyone will
be like that Neve she never ages, Yeah, that's so true.
She also never changes her position or style. How big
is your family when they all get together?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I think with plus ones now where and also kids
as well, were fifteen to twenty.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
And it's wow, oh that's so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, it's also at that age of the changing of
the guard from the parents to Loo right, the cousins,
and now we've got a new generation. So it's really
really fun and we have a great talent.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Together, and you seem to be enjoying anti life.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah. I'm actually going to see them this weekend. I
can't wait. And I could not wait for someone in
my family to have a little baby. And I think, yeah,
anytime I get to see them, and I can understand
now why the first like grandchild or child in the
family is so spoiled. Oh yeah, I'm doing exactly that. Yeah,
and now I think, well, I wasn't the first one,
so like I didn't get that treatment.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, me neither. There's like the first five pages of
my baby book are filled out and then it kind
of trails off and has a whole lass thing of
everything she did every month. Am I it was a
big when I walked to mom. Yeah, okay. My other
follow up question about your socials is your teammate Maya
calls you Steve and you call her worm.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Can you explain One day we were at Saint George's
in prep for the Euros and yeah, I say Neve,
just say Leeve, but it's Neve, And Mayo went to
say ne but for some reason, she just goes Steve
and it just it just caught on, and like now
I really do respond to it, and the whole tournament.
You know when someone says that and you're like, they're
(30:30):
not going to carry that on. But two months later
was still Steve. And and then I was what can
I do to say to Mayo? And she'd done a
few questionable things.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Oh, like what give us an example?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
I think she'd done a few things to me, Like
we were just before in training or something. We were
having a bit of a joke with Serena, and then
she just like flipped her thing and like left me,
hung me out to dry, and I was like, oh,
that's a snaky thing, obviously. Just yeah, but obviously I
said to her, oh, you're a bit of snakes. That's
way too harsh. And it was too harsh. So she
became one for the for the less. Yeah, still has
(31:06):
some work to do, to be honest, but Steve's really stuck.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah for light hearted, light hearted snake moves, you get
worm instead. Yeah, all right, before I let you go,
you have to play our game. It's similar to start
bench cut, but we don't cut anything. It's good, gooder, gooddest. Okay,
so you have to rank from good to goodest. Sam
Kerr's celebratory backflips, Chloe Kelly's signature leg kick skip before
(31:34):
a penalty, and Serena Wiegman's dance moves to burn a.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Boy that was iconic, that was really iconic. I would
say Chloe Kelly's kip is good classic, always delivers. Sam's
is gooder because the like that I associate with such
good feelings of like she's just on something incredible. But
I think Serena's moves a burn boy and her reaction
(32:01):
is just something iconic and like no one unexpected that
was going to happen. Yeah, so that's the goodness. Like
it's just it's just so mad.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I agree with you, except that I used to get
the Sam Kurr backflips in my backyard when she was
on the Chicago Red Stars, and that was like such
a joy to me and I would just be always
sharing the clips and be like, guys, this is like
right here in Chicago, like we need to go see
this team more. It's Sam freaking cur doing backflips after
she scores. But the Burna Boys Serena connection that nobody
(32:29):
knew was standing.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It was incredible.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
It was so great to talk to you. I fear
that I like you too much, and then now I'll
start wanting to watch you play, and I don't have time, Neave.
I don't have time to add a whole other league
to my to my sports watching, but I will be
tempted now, so you might have got me perfect.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Thank you. Well, you know, the WSL is always there.
It's a great, great advertisement.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Fair but I will always still root for the US.
So thanks so much, Neve for taking the time. We
got to take another break. When we come back, we
redecorate in purple and pink. Welcome back slices. We love
(33:14):
that you're listening, but we want you to get in
the game every day too, So here's our good game
play of the day. Follow Neve on social media, maybe
even dip a toe in the WSL footy waters season
starts next month. Be careful, though, because you got to
make sure you have the time to fall in love
with a whole nother league of badass footballers. Not to mention,
you got to make sure you have your early Saturday
(33:35):
mornings free. Those games are like at six am, And
maybe just start by rooting for Neve. We'll link to
our instagram in the show notes to get you started.
We always love to hear from you. Hit us up
on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave
us a voicemail at eight seven two two O four
fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
It's easy watch the PWHL's partnership with Mattel and Tim
(33:59):
Horton's rating ten out of ten brand turnaround from Barbie
the last few years. Turns out it's far cooler to
empower women than to provide them with an unrealistic ideal review.
The PWHL recently announced it's teamed up with Mattel and
Tim Hortons to create two new Barbie dolls. The dolls
are inspired by PWHL players Sarah Nurse and friend of
(34:20):
the show Marie Filippe Pulen, who were recognized as Barbie
role models back in twenty twenty for being trailblazers on
the ice and breaking down barriers for women in hockey.
Both the Barbie's are rocking a Tim Horton's PWHL hockey
jersey hockey stick helmet and skates, and five Canadian dollars
from every doll sold will be donated to Grindstone Award Foundation,
which provides funding for young female hockey players who have
(34:43):
the passion to play but face financial challenges. To celebrate
the launch of Tim Hortons in Toronto has been made
over in Barbie Pink and p WHL purple. All right,
my maple bacon slice is up in Canada. If you're
near that, Tim Hortons, stop in today or tomorrow while
the decorations are still up and send us a PA.
We'll link to where you can find out more about
the school collab. Now it's your turn rate and review.
(35:06):
Do it right now to scroll down five stars. Tell
us you'll love us. Thanks for listening, y'all, see you tomorrow.
Good game, Neve, good game, Hesley. You you England for banning
women's football for so long. Good Game with Sarah Spain
is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the
(35:27):
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutter,
Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer
(35:47):
is Lucy Jones. Production assistance from Avery Loftist and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're bowing
down to Asia Wilson once again doing something no one's
ever done, first WNBA player with a thirty point twenty
rebound game magic. It's Tuesday, August twelfth, and on today's show,
we'll be talking to niph Charles of Chelsea and the
England national team. We chat with her about the Lionesses
(00:21):
winning Euros last month, how happy she is to have
Naomi Germa on her club team, whyatt took her a
minute to warm up to playing soccer, and why cardboard
cutout Neve might be having even more fun than the
real version. Plus rebounding with a tumble, taking revenge on Canadians,
and a WNBA scheduling conundrum that has us asking why
(00:42):
it's all coming up Right after this welcome back slices,
here's what you need to know today. Let's start with
gymnastics and the US Gymnastics Championships in New Orleans. Louisi
Hesley Rivera won the all around title, finishing eight tenths
(01:04):
of a point ahead of two time Olympic alternate Leanne Wong,
who plays second Rivera, who won team gold at last
summer's Paris Olympics. Was the only member of that US
Olympic team to compete at Nationals this year. With the win,
the seventeen year old becomes the youngest US all around
champion since Reagan Smith won in twenty seventeen. Rivera also
won apparatus titles on balance beam, floor, and uneven bars.
(01:28):
While the US team for October's World Championships won't be
named until the fall, Rivera's performance at Nationals should earn
her a roster spot, so long as she stays consistent
and healthy between now and the team selection event. Speaking
of healthy, other highlights from the Gymnastics Championships include Sky Blakely,
who was competing in her first elite meet in fourteen months,
(01:48):
tying Rivera for the uneven bars title and finishing second
on balance beam. You remember, Blakely was initially considered a
favorite to make last year's Olympic team, but tore her
achilles two days ahead of Olympic trials and ended up
spending the last year plus rehabbing the injury. To lacrosse.
Team USA won gold at the World Games in China
on Monday, defeating rival Canada sixteen to eight in the
(02:11):
championship game. It marked a bit of revenge for the
US national team after they suffered a rare defeat to
Canada in the gold medal game of the twenty twenty
two World Games three years ago. This competition featured a
six's format that's the same format that'll be used when
lacrosse makes its Olympic debut at the twenty twenty eight
LA Games. All told, the US outscored its opponents one
(02:32):
hundred twenty nine to fifty across five games in China,
with captain Marie McCool leading the way with twenty total
goals to hoops. There are two WNBA games tonight. First up,
the Dallas Wings traveled to the Indiana Fever for a
seven to thirty start. Wings are coming off a ninety
one seventy eight loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday
that saw Rookie of the Year candidates Kiki eria Fen,
(02:53):
Sonya Citron, and Paige Beckers all doing work at the
same time. Erie Fens scored a career high twenty three
points and grabbed ten rebounds in that one. Citron scored
seventeen of her eighteen points in the second half, and
Becker scored seventeen points, her twenty fifth game scoring in
double digits to start a career that's tied for fourth
place in WNBA history with Ruthy Bolton. These rookies continue
(03:15):
to impress. Then, at ten PM tonight, the Los Angeles
Sparks host the New York Liberty. Sparks are coming off
a thrilling ninety four to ninety one win over the
Seattle Storm on Sunday that saw Deerica Hamby score seven
of LA's final nine points, including the winning three point
play with five point six seconds left. Sparks have now
won nine of their last eleven games. As for the Liberty,
(03:38):
you might recall it in Monday Show we told you
about how the Minnesota Links are currently in the middle
of three straight games against the Liberty, including Sunday's eighty
three seventy one Links win. Well, the Liberty do have
those three games, plus a couple in between, including tonight's
contest at the Sparks and another away game on Wednesday
against the Las Vegas Aces. So what's the deal with
the Liberty and Links taking so long to play their
(04:00):
first game? Then the Link's playing them three times in
a row. And the Liberty having two extra games in
the midst of those three. With the links, well, we'll
link to a great story by the athletic Sabrina Merchant
that helps try to tease apart this whole scheduling debacle.
We got to take a quick break. When we come back,
We're chuffed to bits to have a cheeky chat with
Brent Neve Charles. We got up with their last week
(04:23):
a bit of a chin wag, you know, talking bits
and Bob's that's next joining us now. She's a left
back for the England national team and Chelsea of the
Women's Super League. She's a five time Women's Super League winner,
four time FA Cup winner, two time League Cup winner
(04:43):
and a Champions League runner up. She helped England to
a runner up finish to Spain in the twenty twenty
three World Cup, and just last month her team avenged
that World Cup loss as she buried her penalty shot
to help them defeat the Spaniards and win the Euros.
It's Neve Charles, Hi, Neve, Wow, thank you Hi. I
want to start with the basics for our listeners who
maybe aren't familiar with the leagues across the Pond. So
(05:04):
you're a Champions League runner up, move's in the Champions League.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
So the Champions League is a selection of all the
top teams from the European league. So I think it
changes each year, but I think in the English game
we have three teams that have the chance to qualify
and then go into the group stages and then all
the top teams around Europe they all come together and
now it's in a group stage format and any sort
of yeah, compete to be named Champions of Europe.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And then you're a four time FA Cup winner. What
teams are eligible for that?
Speaker 2 (05:37):
The FA Cup is like it's so traditional in the
English game. It's like any team whatever division in England
can sort of start in the FA Cup. Obviously the
lower leagues they start earlier and it goes rounds and
the higher leagues come in later. But the beauty of
the FA Cup is you could be in the lowest
league and have an unbelievable FA Cup run and be
playing one of the top teams and yeah, then your
(05:57):
crowns sort of the FA Cup Champions oving England. But
it's it's a really traditional sort of competition and yeah,
it's just some fairy tale stuff in England.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And then you're a five time WSL winners. So which
teams play in the WSL.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Changes each year with relegation and stuff, but there's, yeah,
the top teams in the UK that you can think of,
so Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool like all
of the from the north to south. And then there's
relegation obviously, so some teams come up and down. But yeah,
there's eight to twelve teams. I think the league's increasing,
(06:32):
but yeah, we all play during the season and then yeah,
thankfully I've won it a few times.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
That's kind of England's and WSL.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah for sure. But I think the way we do
it is it's definitely like you just get named the champions,
whereas in America, I know, there's like the League the Shields.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Also, yeah, we have the final game. Yeah, yeah, we're
really into the one game to decide all kind of thing. Yeah,
a little bit more over here, okay, and the Euros
and the champions are not the same because the Euros
is for national teams and the Champions League is for clubs.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah correct, Okay, all right, now that.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
We got all that, and let's talk about the Euros.
You've got this incredible run with Team England. We saw
the huge numbers online, we saw some of the cool
activations from AFAR, like the street lights changing in Basel, Switzerland,
but you felt it. So what was it like in
person to play in what is now broken all the
records for attendance and interest for this tournament?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, it was incredible. I think year on year you
do expect to get bigger and bigger, and that's credit
to sort of the work that everyone's done with the
women's game. But I think to be out there in
Switzerland for the whole tournament and to sort of see
the appetite for it and the excitement no matter where
we were in Switzerland, and to also see every other
nations sort of home support, and sort of how that compared.
Like the game we played against Wales, which is a
(07:53):
big rival. Really the atmosphere there and obviously the Welsh
verson of the English and the fans and it all
traveled across and even before the game my family were
telling me stories of the fan park and it was
just the atmosphere semed electric and it was a full
sort of day out, which I know the Americans do
very well.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
So your team came from behind on several occasions during
the tournament, and I wonder if you think experience in
previous tournaments prepared you to be able to fight back
when you were trailing.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
I think that's the spirit we have in the team.
And we sort of said before the final as well,
we've done it so many times to the tournament that
the opposition, no matter if we're losing, they always have
that in the back of the mind now that we've
done it time and time again, and I think we
feel that within the team, but also we know the
opposition feel that as well, that we're never down and
out in a game, and that mental side sort of
plays into it that, yeah, we're never done. And I
(08:40):
think we've shown that we have it in us multiple
times to do it, and I think we really played
on that and we're lucky enough to be able to
do it a few times.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Yeah, you came on late in the final and major PK.
I want to know what's going on in that moment.
Do you repeat a mantra, do you focus on breathing,
do you try to like look where you're not going
to kick it?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I think in that moment, you like you can get
so caught up in the emotions of it. I knew
my family were there, I knew a lot of people
were watching. Obviously your whole country's watching, and I think
if you sort of spiral on that, it becomes so big.
And I think we'd really prepared for that moment as
a team and as an individual that it was very
much the mantra was sort of, just do your job.
It takes the emotion out of it. Do your job,
(09:21):
which is to walk up and to sort of bury it.
And I think that helped me to take the emotion
out of it and really focus on my process of
walking up there, where I placed the ball, what part
of the ball, and then walking back referee whistle, and
then it's not sort of it's sort of owning that moment,
not going when the referee tells you to do. It
was definitely like I take a deep breath, go when
I'm ready, And we'd sort of worked on that a
(09:43):
lot in train and obviously you can never recreate it,
but it definitely helped.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
I hear that so much from elite athletes now, and
I look back at my collegiate career and think, like
I wish someone would have told me that to think
of it as like, it's just the same thing you
do every day. I did the opposite. I was like,
this is the biggest moment of your life, like, and
I now that that was like completely counterproductive and it
was not how I should have done it. So if
anyone out there is listening, that's still playing, whereas kids
(10:07):
who are playing, like, get that message across of you've
done it a million times, it's the same as what
you've always done. I really could have used that. After
your team won, your teammate Lucy Brons revealed she'd been
playing on a broken tibbia. But of course she told
the BBC after it's very painful, but I'm being a party,
what a legend, Like, I assume all of you knew
(10:28):
that behind the scenes what she was struggling with.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Yeah, we obviously knew that, but credit to Lucy's she's
so good at making it about the team and keep
going that you would never know unless you knew sort
of things. So, yeah, we knew that she'd been doing
it for a while, and I think when people found out,
they were like, if anyone could do it, Lucy could
do it, And yeah, for her to play with that
much pain and to be able to put in performances
that she did. If anyone could do it, it would be Lucy.
(10:53):
So I think it's just epitomizes who she is as
a person.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It was a hell of a party too, It was
worth her powering through. You had doubled acker, buses, burn
a boy. There were throngs of people everywhere with the
face pain and the flags and everything. What was your
favorite moment from that parade day.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
I think there was a moment we all sort of
came and we saw the buses and we saw the
amount of people before we turned into the Male which
is just in front of Booking and Palace, and I
think we saw that crowd and thought, oh my god.
And then it just turning the corner and sort of
seeing everyone. It was so so special And I had
a moment afterwards where I sort of said to someone
(11:28):
I came down here with my family as a child
and had a photo in front of this monument in
front of Buckingham Palace, and now to be here doing that, yeah,
with like it's sort of shut down for us. It
was a pinch me moment, and yeah, having enough family
there as well, right in front of it was just
fairy tale stuff.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
It's funny too, because from over here in the States,
I think of Buckingham Palace as like it's only for
official royal business. You know, you can't make the guards laugh.
I'm sure that's kind of like what foreigners think about.
When the US women's national team gets a ticker tape
parade in downtown New York, You're like, wait, that's New
York City that doesn't shut down for anything. But that's
how big these moments are, and that's how much you
could feel a part of the city that you're in,
(12:06):
in the country that you're from, when everybody rallies around you.
Back when the US women won the World Cup in
twenty nineteen, we got some solid live streams from a
couple players over the course of several days. We saw
them partying on bars at two am and pulling their
bodies out of beds hung over to go do national
TV shows and then go back and lay by the pool.
What was the length of party time for y'all? How
(12:27):
many days did we keep this celebration going?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
I think we parted hard in Switzerland. That was with
like close friends and family in the hotel and then
carried it on to the next day as well. We
had some sort of you got a lock in for
some official business sort of thing, and then yeah, we
had a really nice sort of moment just as players.
We went for dinner and went obviously went out, and
that was a really nice moment to sort of let
loose after a long time together, the feeling that you'd
(12:51):
want and been able to celebrate, and then the parade again,
and then by the end of that, I think we
were all absolutely naked, like we really played hard and
went hard, and that's exactly what you sort of arn't
that moment. I think it was just it was so
nice to be able to share those memories and moments
with the people that you'd sort of done that amazing
thing with.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
I want to go back to the beginning, because you
got all the way to where you are beginning at
the West Kirby wasps. Tell us how you got started
playing footy and tell me about that team.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Yeah, so I started. Obviously, there weren't women's girls teams
when I was growing up, so I went to a
local boys team with my best friend. And I don't
remember this moment, but my family always tell me that
my first coach was called Norman and I was pitchfied
of and went down to the session, was crying, wouldn't
let go of my dad's leg. And now to think
what I'm doing now at the moment, I said, you
(13:40):
just didn't leave my leg for the whole session, but
then once you went, I couldn't get you back. And
that's sort of the start of the sort of love
affair of having football. I guess it was. It wasn't
necessarily my family, It was just my pure love for
the game that once I got over that first hurdle,
I just was hooked and yeah, just couldn't couldn't get
enough of it.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
You mentioned playing on boys team, you know, I was
fascinated to learn. I don't know what it was five
or six, seven years ago that women's pro football was
banned in England for fifty years from the nineteen twenties
until the seventies. And I actually use that example all
the time in the speeches and Ted Talk type things
I do about women's sports, talking about how we need
(14:18):
to understand that there was intention behind holding women back
in order to understand the context of the recent growth
that it required people being able to attend and play
and grow up seeing it. So you were obviously born
decades after women's footy returned in the early nineteen seventies.
Did you hear much about the band growing up or
was there an awareness of why women's footy was smaller
(14:39):
than men's in the country.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I think growing up less so. But I think before
we went to the Olympics as a GB squad, we
had a really nice moment where we had someone come
in whose sort of job was to research that, and
she should have shared all the personal stories of people
from back then and how it sort of happened that
women's football was banned because it was so successful. The
appetite was there even at that point, and that was
(15:04):
sort of the reaction that was banned for fifty years.
But it was so inspired to hear that actually, all
that time ago, it had such an appetite and it
was yeah, everyone loved it, but also an understanding of Okay,
this is why we are where we are, and we
know that we can get there, but we are fifty
years behind. We have had a lot of barriers put
in our way. So I think it was inspiring to
(15:26):
know the story and to know what we're sort of
fighting for and where we can get to, and also
an understanding of why we are behind and how much
work we have to put in to sort of get
it to where we know it can go.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
And also a warning a bit the idea that it
was thriving and popular. There were so many people that
wanted to play and wanted to watch and attend, and
there was a desire to keep that from happening, and
to understand that in this current moment where the growth
feels like it's a rocket ship and the only way
to go is up, to keep an eye out for
the people who are wanting to hold it back, for
(16:00):
the bad actors who want to prevent women from being
empowered and in their bodies and participating. You know, in
December of last year, I saw you were on hand
for this Neave Charles pitch opening at the Bidston Sports
and Activity Center. What did that mean to you? And
tell me how you came to get your own pitch.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
That was such a full circle moment for me because
I actually grew up playing at those pitches and it
was sort of the hat out of my week and
looking forward to training going down there, and that was
at my World Cup final every week, so to go
back there and to have a pitch that was named
after me, and to know how much it gives priority
to girls and women access to play football first and
(16:41):
to know how much that would mean for the local
community and hopefully how much that will help other people
to get to where I am and further, I think
it was really special for me and my family, and
it was done because the government provided a grant for
every Lion S's player amazing just sort of give back
to their local community. So all across the UK we
all got pictures named after us, which is a massive
(17:03):
thing for the women's game.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
I think that's so cool. Was the grant based on
the Euros win or was it on the runner up finish?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I think it was based on the squad that was
in the Euros and in the World Cup, so any
player that was in that squad was eligible for the
grant and sort of give back to their local community.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
That's really cool. So you played for Liverpool for several
years before you signed with Chelsea in twenty twenty. Emma
Hayes was the manager of Chelsea at the time and
switched your position. What was your very first response, not
the one after you're like, let me think this through
and see if this will be good for me, or
I trust Emma the very first response when she was
like I'm going.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
To move you denial. I remember before she sort of
had the conversation with me, some of the teammates were
joking about it with me and they were like, they've
been here for a while and they were like, it's going
to happen. Even I sort of denied it, but it
sort of happened by chance with an injury we had it.
Sort of I got shoehorned into that. So it probably
delayed the response of actually your changing position. It was
(17:59):
more of a needs must for the team. But I think, yeah,
Emma was brilliant with me, gave me so much trust
and guidance, and actually I think it really plays to
ma strengths and she's a wise woman. She she knows
exactly what she's doing. So yeah, I did trust her.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Yeah, life lesson too, maybe, speaking of Chelsea, how's our
girl Naomi Germa? We miss her over here? You guys
stole her.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yeah, she's my sis, like she I'm so happy we
signed her and I'm so happy she came. I think
she is an unbelievably talented player, not just in what
she does with the football, but I think the leadership
quality she brings and also just energy she has. She's
infectious as a person, and I think the US have
got a really good I know, she's such a leader
for them and such a sort of icon and leader
(18:41):
from the back. And I'm glad that from the domestic
game she's on my team. And yeah, when we play
against her for the US, it'll be a battle for sure,
But yeah, she is She's a top quality player and
a person.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
Yeah, gonna be tough playing the Americans because it feels like,
based on social media, Katerina Marcario is one of your
besties on the team too, another American.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
I do joke with her that we've sort of sat
like all of her best season now coming. And but
I think the Americans are one of the best teams
in the world, and to have so many of them
at Chelsea, it's only going to benefit us and hopefully
help us when that Champions League that we're all going after.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
Do you ever talk to them about the differences between
the NWSL and WSL what stands out to you?
Speaker 2 (19:21):
We do sort of compare stories, and I think we're
also passionate about growing the women's game and how much
it is growing and how the investment's evolving. And I
think it's nice to sort of compare the mindset between
England and the mindset in America and how things are
being done similarly indifferent to make sure that we're sort
of pushing on all fronts and also that the players
(19:42):
get the best service that they can. And like we've
seen investment, I know from Alexis'hanni and coming into the
Chelsea game, which is amazing, sort of that crosspond from America,
and I think it's exciting that players are sort of
crossing over and sort of sharing that investment and hopefully
that will increase the revenue in America and in England.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
Yeah, I want to talk a little bit more about
that because I feel like in the States we look
over on your end and we're like, well, these teams
get to be bullied by Premier League men's teams that
have billions of dollars, right, so they have this incredible funding,
a lot of good resources and things that stem from that.
But we also hear that here in the US because
of Title nine and because of the success of the
US women's national team that the NWSL is ahead in
(20:26):
a lot of ways in comparison. Where are the big differences.
Where do you think that you're ahead and where do
you think that maybe you're still behind.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Having not experienced both, I would say the NWSL out
is probably amazing that there're a lot of them are
standalone teams sort of that can create their own sort
of story, their own history. But then I think there's
something really special about the UK game where you can
grow up and in the past you've just supported a
men's team, but now there's very much a men's and
(20:55):
a women's team, So for boys and girls, they can
sort of look up and see people that they can
relate to, they can be them, And I think there's
strengths and weaknesses in both. But I think what I'm
really passionate about is making the women's game amazing on
its own, that we have shown that we can attract
the investment and the revenue, that it can become a
(21:16):
powerhouse in its own right. And I think in America
you're probably seeing that with the attraction of the NWSL
and how much investment's going on, which is also translating
over here. Hopefully off the back of the ears as well,
that's only going to increase, which will contribute to better
training facilities, better everything for the athletes. So at the
same time as the investment, we can create a better
product on the pitch. So hopefully year on year was
(21:39):
sort of increasing at the same rate, whether it's the
US or the UK.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, I have to admit, I'm just like a women's
footy fan, and so I really got into the US
women's national team and the NWSL. I'm nadas into the
teams across the pand so most of my view of
what's going on over there is ted Lasso and Wreckham,
which is like the most stereotypical, basic bit American view.
And of course the American players that I see go
across the teams like Chelsea, and I kind of follow
(22:03):
along with what they're doing. Do you feel like the
Americans who are getting into Premier League or maybe are
more invested in watching the Euros women's team because of
the team swaps the players that are coming over are
kind of simple in their view and understanding of football.
Or are we getting better over here?
Speaker 2 (22:22):
I've actually, funny enough, just started watching Ted last. So
I'm only on the first season, which I haven't done
for life. But it's film where I live, so's it's
crazy way Yeah, so I've been to the pub where
it's all filmed and.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Everything where you grew up or where you live now.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Where I live now, sorry, it's really near to.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
So fun yeah, so cute little places.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
It's such a quintessential English British pub book. And to
sort of see the American like crossover again, it's really
really funny. But I think what I love about the
Americans is it's almost like you're just raised to win,
your ways, to compete, your complete athletes, complete winners, and
I think think like we can learn off them, they
can probably learn off us. And I think the combination
(23:04):
of both is it's really really special and American sport
is massive, So I think if we can take that
and sort of apply that mindset in certain instances in
the UK and the women's game, then it can be
really really exciting.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
I can only imagine the folks wandering around your town
looking for the different spots that they've seen on the show.
It's probably both fun and annoying at times. You made
your debut for the Lioness's the England national team in
twenty twenty one. Who did you invite to that very
first match and what were the nerves?
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Like, well, it's crazy you asked that because it was
in COVID, So I invited absolutely no one, no. Yeah,
So it was a really weird way to make my debut,
but I like to splip it as like I made
it with the girls. It was so special. But I
also made it in a stadium really near to where
my uncle, who was like a massive football inspiration for me,
he lives, so it's kind of like it was going
(23:54):
to be anywhere. I could almost feel that they were
there with me. But it was also nice because then
when they first got seen you play for England, it
was like the second debut.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
A little bit and maybe a little fewer nerves the
second time. So yeah, for sure excited about everyone being
there for you. Speaking of nerds, you're a big advocate
for mental health and you've said it's really important to
think about it every day, just like we think about
our physical training or our technical training. Was that a
gradual journey for you to understand that or have you
always had to make that a big part of your
(24:23):
game in your life.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
It has been a gradual journey, probably because I don't
think it's maybe spoken about as much from when you're
younger as it is physical. So when I was coming
through the academy, I really remember moments where I was
fully focused on my physical strength, conditioning football. So I
was used to thinking like that, and I think it's
only now that I start to think of the mental side,
(24:46):
whereas I wish when I was younger it was spoken
about in as much value as the physical part was
and it became normal. So my hope is now that
young girls that are coming through they are it is
equal weighted and look to say, look, your physical side
of the game contributes massively, but also your mental side doesn't.
For me, it makes such a difference to my game.
(25:06):
But not only that, no matter what I'm doing, whether
it's sports, whether it's a job, or just in my life,
my mental health and for everyone, I think is something
you take care of.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, I'm always talking about this book The Body Keeps
the Score that I think is like this life changing
understanding of how our heads and our intellects are not
a separate body from the rest of us, but we
kind of consider them as such, and then understanding the
ways that what's going on in our brain and our
feelings and our anxiety might actually be gucking up the
rest of our body functioning as well as it could.
(25:36):
So that does deeply impact your play physically and your
health physically, and a lot of people don't really make
that connection. I remember being a young athlete, we would
sort of have those conversations like PMA positive mental attitude
or like visualize the race. Like we sort of talked
about it in ways that were very clearly about mental
health and sport, but we didn't name it. And I
think now being able to name it has allowed people
(25:58):
to access it a lot more and to ask for
what they need. I know Nami Germa is part of this.
Create the space. Is that something that y'all have worked
together on or talk about how you want to be
leaders about.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yeah, it's really interesting because when she came over, obviously
I'm also part of that created the space from the
UK side, join common goal, but when we sort of
came together, it was really really nice that sort of
separately we're passionate about this and we have our own
stories and reasons and motivations for it and then we
came together and share a lot of similarities and sort
of understanding about how important it is as a person
(26:31):
and as an elite athlete. And I think we've definitely
spoken about it and how yeah, like you say, it
can make a massive difference. I know you just think, oh,
it's just in my head, but it does connect to
your body, and a lot of the time your body
sort of shows you how you're feeling. And I think
we're both very aware of that and hopefully can normalize
and increase that conversation and help a lot of people
through that.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
So I was trolling your social media and I have
two important questions for you. Number One, your family celebrated
your twenty first birthday with a cardboard cut out of
you and not you. Everybody from your family together in
a house partying without you the birthday. Girl. Can you
please explain this.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I mean, I don't know whether to be so proud
of my family that they still do that or so insulted,
but yeah, it's actually happened a few times. There was
a lot of pictures on my family group chat today
and I went through and I thought, all these family
events and there's so many that I'm not in but yeah,
for my twenty first that was a particular one. My
family liked to celebrate birthdays all together. We all go
away fine this house and sort of spend the weekend
(27:31):
together and fin obviously it was planned and when I
couldn't go, I would love to go back and think
how long did they think about should we cancel it?
Should we not? But I don't think they did. They thought, well,
perfect solution, will all just go And they didn't take
just one. I actually later found out it was five
carboard cutouts, some of me as are put like in
a nice dress, some of me and a football kit,
(27:52):
and they just they all say to me, they think
it's great. We had the best time with your carboy cutouts,
Like it was better than if you were there, Like
it was just made the weekend. So yeah, they had
a great time.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Why here I assume I assume fo you got in
the way.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Yeah, I don't know what particularly, but it was definitely football.
It's always that's the one of the biggest sacrifices you make.
And yeah, we all know is how performance athletes. It's
just it is a massive, massive sacrifice and it's just
become normal to be honest.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I mean, at least one of those cardboard cutouts should
have been saved and brought to all these other events
that you also kept.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Make no, it actually has been. And so my grandma's
ninetieth birthday, they all obviously everyone was there apart from me,
so the cardboard cut got well out again. And it's
actually my parents like shoved behind my parents' wardrobe at home,
and like when I go in, it does like start
me every single time. There's just an arm and a
leg out the side of the wardrobe, which like they
(28:47):
obviously keep because again I'm going to miss something in
the future. Oh it can come back.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Like it, I like, and you're you're preserved at the
age of you know, twenty years old. Yeah, that's true
when they took the photos, so you know, especially if
they keep using in a family photo, was everyone will
be like that Neve she never ages, Yeah, that's so true.
She also never changes her position or style. How big
is your family when they all get together?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I think with plus ones now where and also kids
as well, were fifteen to twenty.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
And it's wow, oh that's so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Yeah, it's also at that age of the changing of
the guard from the parents to Loo right, the cousins,
and now we've got a new generation. So it's really
really fun and we have a great talent.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Together, and you seem to be enjoying anti life.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah. I'm actually going to see them this weekend. I
can't wait. And I could not wait for someone in
my family to have a little baby. And I think, yeah,
anytime I get to see them, and I can understand
now why the first like grandchild or child in the
family is so spoiled. Oh yeah, I'm doing exactly that. Yeah,
and now I think, well, I wasn't the first one,
so like I didn't get that treatment.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
Yeah, me neither. There's like the first five pages of
my baby book are filled out and then it kind
of trails off and has a whole lass thing of
everything she did every month. Am I it was a
big when I walked to mom. Yeah, okay. My other
follow up question about your socials is your teammate Maya
calls you Steve and you call her worm.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Can you explain One day we were at Saint George's
in prep for the Euros and yeah, I say Neve,
just say Leeve, but it's Neve, And Mayo went to
say ne but for some reason, she just goes Steve
and it just it just caught on, and like now
I really do respond to it, and the whole tournament.
You know when someone says that and you're like, they're
(30:30):
not going to carry that on. But two months later
was still Steve. And and then I was what can
I do to say to Mayo? And she'd done a
few questionable things.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Oh, like what give us an example?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
I think she'd done a few things to me, Like
we were just before in training or something. We were
having a bit of a joke with Serena, and then
she just like flipped her thing and like left me,
hung me out to dry, and I was like, oh,
that's a snaky thing, obviously. Just yeah, but obviously I
said to her, oh, you're a bit of snakes. That's
way too harsh. And it was too harsh. So she
became one for the for the less. Yeah, still has
(31:06):
some work to do, to be honest, but Steve's really stuck.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah for light hearted, light hearted snake moves, you get
worm instead. Yeah, all right, before I let you go,
you have to play our game. It's similar to start
bench cut, but we don't cut anything. It's good, gooder, gooddest. Okay,
so you have to rank from good to goodest. Sam
Kerr's celebratory backflips, Chloe Kelly's signature leg kick skip before
(31:34):
a penalty, and Serena Wiegman's dance moves to burn a.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
Boy that was iconic, that was really iconic. I would
say Chloe Kelly's kip is good classic, always delivers. Sam's
is gooder because the like that I associate with such
good feelings of like she's just on something incredible. But
I think Serena's moves a burn boy and her reaction
(32:01):
is just something iconic and like no one unexpected that
was going to happen. Yeah, so that's the goodness. Like
it's just it's just so mad.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
I agree with you, except that I used to get
the Sam Kurr backflips in my backyard when she was
on the Chicago Red Stars, and that was like such
a joy to me and I would just be always
sharing the clips and be like, guys, this is like
right here in Chicago, like we need to go see
this team more. It's Sam freaking cur doing backflips after
she scores. But the Burna Boys Serena connection that nobody
(32:29):
knew was standing.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
It was incredible.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
It was so great to talk to you. I fear
that I like you too much, and then now I'll
start wanting to watch you play, and I don't have time, Neave.
I don't have time to add a whole other league
to my to my sports watching, but I will be
tempted now, so you might have got me perfect.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Thank you. Well, you know, the WSL is always there.
It's a great, great advertisement.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Fair but I will always still root for the US.
So thanks so much, Neve for taking the time. We
got to take another break. When we come back, we
redecorate in purple and pink. Welcome back slices. We love
(33:14):
that you're listening, but we want you to get in
the game every day too, So here's our good game
play of the day. Follow Neve on social media, maybe
even dip a toe in the WSL footy waters season
starts next month. Be careful, though, because you got to
make sure you have the time to fall in love
with a whole nother league of badass footballers. Not to mention,
you got to make sure you have your early Saturday
(33:35):
mornings free. Those games are like at six am, And
maybe just start by rooting for Neve. We'll link to
our instagram in the show notes to get you started.
We always love to hear from you. Hit us up
on email, good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or leave
us a voicemail at eight seven two two O four
fifty seventy, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
It's easy watch the PWHL's partnership with Mattel and Tim
(33:59):
Horton's rating ten out of ten brand turnaround from Barbie
the last few years. Turns out it's far cooler to
empower women than to provide them with an unrealistic ideal review.
The PWHL recently announced it's teamed up with Mattel and
Tim Hortons to create two new Barbie dolls. The dolls
are inspired by PWHL players Sarah Nurse and friend of
(34:20):
the show Marie Filippe Pulen, who were recognized as Barbie
role models back in twenty twenty for being trailblazers on
the ice and breaking down barriers for women in hockey.
Both the Barbie's are rocking a Tim Horton's PWHL hockey
jersey hockey stick helmet and skates, and five Canadian dollars
from every doll sold will be donated to Grindstone Award Foundation,
which provides funding for young female hockey players who have
(34:43):
the passion to play but face financial challenges. To celebrate
the launch of Tim Hortons in Toronto has been made
over in Barbie Pink and p WHL purple. All right,
my maple bacon slice is up in Canada. If you're
near that, Tim Hortons, stop in today or tomorrow while
the decorations are still up and send us a PA.
We'll link to where you can find out more about
the school collab. Now it's your turn rate and review.
(35:06):
Do it right now to scroll down five stars. Tell
us you'll love us. Thanks for listening, y'all, see you tomorrow.
Good game, Neve, good game, Hesley. You you England for banning
women's football for so long. Good Game with Sarah Spain
is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the
(35:27):
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie
and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutter,
Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer
(35:47):
is Lucy Jones. Production assistance from Avery Loftist and I'm
Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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