The Game Changers

Jess Carter: The reality of life as a Lioness

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Episode notes

“The England management in place now, and the type of environment we try to create for the senior team is very different to before… the environment at England camp is a much friendlier and nicer one than it was a handful of years ago.”

We start a new series with a fabulous conversation with Jess Carter, a professional footballer with England and Chelsea. 

Jess was one of the Lionesses that won the Euros in 2022 and went on to win silver in the World Cup in 2023. 

Surprisingly, representing England was never an ambition for Jess as a young player. 

She talks candidly about how the shift in intensity as a Chelsea player impacted her, the challenge of her early games for England and the positive change she’s seen in the England set-up under the leadership of Sarina Wiegman, which has enabled players to flourish and the national team to fulfil its potential.

We explore the real issue around diversity in the national team and WSL, why Jess is so comfortable talking publicly about her sexuality, and how she personally deals with negative comments on social media.

It’s a refreshingly open conversation with a high-profile England player.

Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award.

Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk/thegamechangers

Hosted by Sue Anstiss
Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media

A Fearless Women production