Fran Kirby: I’ve so much to give to help women’s football

In the cavernous hub of Brighton’s indoor training pitch, the squad are being put through their paces. The arduous process is a key part of pre-season: the media day.

For Fran Kirby, the whole experience is still slightly surreal, as she is ushered through interviews and pre-records for Sky Sports, although she isn’t sure about having so many photos taken.

“When I first joined Chelsea, we didn’t even have changing rooms,” says Kirby. “It’s humbling to go from that to what we have now.”

This season will be Kirby’s 11th in the Women’s Super League. The fresh-faced wunderkind with cropped hair became the British record transfer in 2015 when she moved from Reading to Chelsea.

That fee was reported as being between £40,000 and £60,000. This summer, Arsenal broke that record – a decade on – to sign Olivia Smith from Liverpool for £1million.

“I was quite shy when I moved to Chelsea,” says Kirby. “I’d never been away from home. No one made me feel intimidated but I was stepping into a changing room with the likes of Katie Chapman, Eni Aluko, Claire Rafferty. Big players who were consistently playing for England. There is that moment where you look around and you realise where you are. I’m pretty sure Olivia Smith will have had that moment as well.

“Any young player who has that price tag knows it comes with pressure and it comes with expectation. I always just tried to be myself. I didn’t want to be someone that I wasn’t in that environment.”

Kirby more than lived up to the billing at Chelsea, leaving with a glittering resume: seven league titles, five FA Cups and a Champions League final. She finished her time at the club at the end of the 2023-24 season as their all-time top goalscorer, before joining Brighton at the start of last season.

“Everyone reaches that point where it is the right thing to do in both directions. I had an amazing experience at Chelsea and I am so grateful to the club and the fans for looking after me.

“Moving was daunting. It’s like the first day of school again. I remember walking in and having to introduce myself. I had to ask Maria [Thorisdóttir, who Kirby played with at Chelsea] where to go.

“When we went out on the pitch though, I really clicked with everyone. I felt like I could come in and be the way that I am.”

Brighton have shown themselves to have plenty of ambition over the past couple of years. They are committed to building a new stadium for the women’s team, who currently mostly play in Crawley, and have invested heavily in the squad. Last season’s fifth-place finish was their highest ever.

“When I spoke to the club and they told me about their ambitions and the project, it was similar to the conversations that I had had with [manager] Emma Hayes and [head of women’s football] Paul Green all those years ago [at Chelsea].

“Last year we showed in multiple games that we can compete. We took points from Chelsea, we took points from Arsenal. Hopefully this year we can be a bit more consistent.”

This summer was quieter for Kirby than she might have expected after she decided to retire from international football having been told by England manager Sarina Wiegman that she would not be part of her Euro 2025 squad. Only three years prior, Kirby had started every match when they won the tournament for the first time, but she relished the opportunity to take it in from a different perspective.

“If I hadn’t enjoyed it so much, I would have been questioning if it was the right time to step away from the national team. Obviously I wasn’t going to go to the Euros anyway, regardless of that decision, but I’m the kind of player that wants everyone to do well. When you know people personally, and how much they give, and how much passion they have to play for their country, how can you not support them?”

Does that attitude come from the amount of time she has spent watching on from the sidelines during her career?

“It has made it easier but I think it’s also the nature of the person I am. Having the moments that I’ve had throughout my career has definitely made me more mature when I’m not on the pitch.

“I always want the best for people when they’re playing. I’ll message after the match and talk to people about their performances.”

Kirby has struggled to stay fit, with absences due to knee issues, pericarditis and fatigue, but she believes she still has more to give.

“It’s no secret that my body has struggled with the demands of everything. When I first joined Chelsea, we were in every cup, we were playing Champions League, and it was a lot of football from such a young, early age..

“I would like to play for a few more years and try to push myself still. But I’ve obviously thought about what life looks like after football and I would love to stay in women’s football. I have a lot to give in terms of helping it grow and being able to push it to another level as well. Whether that’s a role at a club or in punditry – I’ve definitely thought about it but it’s not something I’ve gone after just yet.”

At 32, Kirby has seen women’s football evolve at an incredible rate and has settled into her role as one of its elder stateswomen. But as one of the most talented players in English football, she is not done yet.