Chelsea: Bethany England’s journey to the pinnacle of football
Bethany England’s journey—at both Chelsea and on the international level with England—has not been a simple one. England signed for the Blues in January of 2016 from Doncaster Rovers Belles after helping them reach the FA Women’s Super League 1 for the first time in the club’s history. She began making €150 for Doncaster and working night shifts at a fish and chip restaurant. The fact that England is where she is at in the current moment is mind-boggling. She kept her head down and worked using her passion, something she always valued more than any other trait, as a driving force.
In a span of just eight years, England went from frying fish and chips and playing semi-professional football to starting up top for the English National Team ahead of a major tournament. A few weeks before the European Championships, England spoke about a time when she was on the edge after not getting picked for the national team squad:
"“I’ll never forget, and it was so stupid because you’re a kid, but I was crying to my mum that I didn’t get picked and I was like ‘I’m quitting football’. But I think I quit for all of four days or something. She said ‘you know you love it too much not to quit’ so she kind of talked me round – not that it would have taken much after I got over the emotion of it. That was tough but then you bounce back and get on with it.”"
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Chelsea’s Bethany England has reached the pinnacle of European football
England’s 14 goals in the 2015 season earned her attention from manager Emma Hayes, who has lifted 12 trophies with the club since arriving in west London. This past week, England started as the No. 9 ahead of Ellen White on the English Women’s National Team in the second-to-last international friendly before this summer’s European Championships. Ahead of what is looking to be the biggest season yet for the Chelsea Women given the new signings, England will look to continue to be the player she has evolved into since coming back from her loan with Liverpool.
England netted an astounding 26 goals from 2018 to 2020 en route to helping the Blues lift their third and fourth Women’s Super League titles respectively. Hayes is always demanding the best out of each player on the team, which means that England has had to deal with the arrival of world class player after world class player in her own position. From Ramona Bachmann to Sam Kerr to Pernille Harder, England never wavered mentally with a top-class player challenging her for a spot to lead the line each year.
Hayes has found it near impossible to “replace” her—despite numerous attempts—given her consistency in front of goal. England won the FA WSL Player of the Year after the 2019/20 campaign when she scored 14 goals and guided Chelsea to a league title in a shortened season. Now, she has developed sensational chemistry with Harder and Kerr along the front line. The trio of talented women scored a whopping 34 league goals for the Blues en route to their third consecutive WSL title this season.
In addition to her role with Chelsea, England is going to be a valuable piece of the journey for Sarina Wiegman and her English National Team.
The Lionesses’ have aspirations of winning their first European title after two runners-up finishes in 1984 and 2009, and it could all come down to the play of their forwards. Currently, England has the second-best odds to win the Euros behind only Spain, who is the favorite at 7/2 odds due to the quality attack of Alexia Putellas and the stout defense captained by Irene Paredes. England and the aforementioned White will likely rotate as the starting No. 9 for Wiegman in the group stage of the tournament. The Lionesses are in Group A in the 2022 Euros, which is arguably the toughest group in the tournament, possessing three top-25 teams in the FIFA world rankings.
England’s career journey has finally reached the pinnacle as she continues to achieve her lifelong dreams. In addition to football, she studied law throughout her time at Doncaster and Chelsea due to the lack of stability in women’s football at the time. Her dream was to become a family lawyer, on top of getting better each day on the football pitch. Women’s football is still in area where many do not view it as a profession where players make enough money to fulfill an average standard of living. While earning more respect each season as a striker, England was trying to look beyond the football pitch with this work.
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It took her a lot of determination to become one of the first-choice strikers for the English National Team. Suffice it to say, England’s perseverance and work ethic define who she is as a person. From having a dream in a Barnsley chippy to scoring goals at the highest levels of the women’s game as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, England is a true inspiration for the girls of the future generations.