Fran Kirby aims to turn double dream into a reality

England star wants to guide Chelsea to quadruple — and improve her FIFA 16 stats when the women’s game is launched
Fran-tastic: Kirby helps England reach the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup
Julian Bennetts24 July 2015

Fran Kirby has two remaining ambitions in 2015. The first is to lead Chelsea Ladies to an unprecedented quadruple.

The second will require no less dedication: improving her own personal stats on FIFA 16 when the computer game — which will include female players for the first time — is released in September.

“Everyone is wondering how good they are going to be on FIFA,” laughs Kirby. “If it’s not what you think it should be, then you make sure you get yourself up there [by training as yourself on the game].

“I’m used to playing as Wayne Rooney or Theo Walcott, so to play as yourself is going to be really surreal. I won’t get used to that.”

This is just the latest in a line of unintended consequences for the stars of England’s run to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals earlier this month.

Three weeks on, Kirby, 22, and her team-mates are still trying to comprehend their achievement.

In simple terms, it translated to a 78 per cent increase in Women’s Super League attendances the weekend after their return from Canada. But on a personal level, nothing is the same for a player who was labelled England’s ‘Mini-Messi’ by her manager, Mark Sampson, during the tournament.

“It has been life-changing,” says the forward, who is set to make her debut for Chelsea against Manchester City on Sunday evening, following a move from Reading that the Berkshire club claim was for a British record.

“When I got home from Canada, I went into town with my Dad, checked Twitter and someone said, ‘I swear I just saw you by Reading train station — aren’t you in Canada?’

“It is pretty bizarre and I don’t think you can get used to it. We were kept away from it all in Canada and it was only the reaction when we got home that we realised how big it was here.

“When you have people asking for photos it is surreal but it is nice people recognised our achievements.”

Among those to do so were the Chelsea first-team squad. When Kirby and her Chelsea team-mates reported to Cobham after the World Cup they found their male counterparts had covered their notice board with messages of congratulation, with John Terry’s personal note particularly heartfelt.

In return, Kirby hopes the first England team to reach a senior semi-final since the men did so at Euro 96 can inspire Roy Hodgson’s side.

“I think we have changed perceptions, not just in women’s football but English football in general — everyone is used to us not achieving and when we went out there people thought we weren’t going to achieve anything.

“We have shown England are good at sport and can achieve things. Look at the cricket — people aren’t just focusing on the men’s Ashes but are also taking into account the women as well.

“We achieved just as much as the men’s teams did [in reaching semi-finals in 1990 and 1996] and to be considered in that bracket is a proud moment. We wanted to inspire the nation and I think we did that by winning the bronze medal.”

The challenge now is to build on this breakthrough. In the immediate future that means maintaining the swell of interest in the WSL and England team ahead of the 2017 European Championships but the fact Great Britain will not enter a team in next year’s Olympics is a blow. “It’s really disappointing,” says Kirby, after the FA failed to persuade the other home nations to enter a team as a collective, as they had done in 2012. “We saw the effect it had on women’s football in 2012. It’s a massive disappointment missing out.”

Instead, she will focus on Chelsea, who she joined for a fee north of £40,000 on her return from Canada.

Kirby shrugs off the comparisons with Messi but knows her star status can elevate the sport even further. “At Chelsea we want to win everything this season,” she adds.

“But we want to play well, too. We need to get people to watch us and stay watching us.

“Our goal before the World Cup was to encourage more people to watch women’s football and encourage girls who didn’t play before to get out in their local park.

“We have to build the league, make it better, improve and develop it. This is just the start.”

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