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The One with Lizzie Seedhouse

The Sheffield soccer star who is helping to make the beautiful game open to everyone.

Lizzie Seedhouse still remembers the day she saw an advert for her first football team.

She was reading a newspaper at her grandma’s house in Sheffield – and from that moment onwards, her love of the beautiful game has been an ever-present part of her life.

Lizzie played for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies, then backed herself to move to America and prove herself at a collegiate level – thanks in no small part to the film ‘Bend It Like Beckham’.

Now she’s Senior Vice President at the USL (United Soccer League) – which is North America’s largest and fastest growing soccer organisation - and it’s there that Lizzie has helped the League launch its ‘Forever Proud’ Project, which focuses on making sure LGBTQ+ fans, employees and partners feel like they belong, not only in the game but in society as a whole.

This is a fascinating chat with Lizzie about that initiative and so much more – her life in the States and early relationship with soccer; how sport has the ability to drive social change; why visibility is important; and what she misses about living in the UK.

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?
Twitter: @LizzieSeedhouse/ @USL_HQ
Website: www.uslsoccer.com

WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?
@jack_murley
jack.murley@bbc.co.uk

Release date:

Available now

29 minutes

Podcast