Football, especially in the social media age, is not always a welcoming place for Black women.
At the Women’s World Cup in Australia last year, Lauren was rightly heralded as the “most naturally gifted player in the country”. But we saw how quickly the tides of public opinion could turn. After Lauren was handed a red card for appearing to deliberately step on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie during their round of 16 clash (for which she apologised), she found herself at the centre of a turbulent media storm.
Lauren is all too aware of the disparities between how white and black women footballers are treated on social media. “If you do something that’s not perfect or I don’t know, say you miss a chance you should have put away, sometimes people perceive you as having an ‘attitude’ where someone of a different colour could be…” she trails off.
Have you found that with yourself? I ask. “Yeah.”
How did that feel? “It is disappointing,” Lauren starts. “We’re all footballers, and we’re all trying to achieve and do the same thing, so we should all be treated the same.”
While there’s still so much work to be done, Lauren is hopeful about the future of women’s football. “We’re going in the right direction. We are seeing a lot more girls play and want to start playing football.”
Lauren is also an ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football, which runs free football sessions to children aged 5-11 across the country. “It allows everyone to get involved no matter your background or what health and wealth you have. And it just allows everyone to get involved and feel welcome,” she explains.
Is this something that would’ve appealed to Lauren as a child? “For sure,” she says. “When I was younger, we had to pay for everything, whether that’s football training or transport… this allows loads of kids to get together and try to achieve their dream.”
Celebrating scoring her the first goal against Denmark during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2023Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
“It’s a nice feeling to see people come together,” she continues. “I think that’s a powerful thing of football. It brings loads of people in the community together.”
Lauren is leaning into her power as a role model. “I just hope that the young girls growing up can see that football can make them feel confident and show them that they can do what I’m doing,” she says.
With the UEFA Women’s European Championships 2025 on the horizon in Switzerland – not to mention a gripping WSL title race against Arsenal – Lauren has it all to play for.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully winning more trophies and achieving big things. And then on the outside, just trying to help young girls achieve their dreams and help guide them.”
Lauren James was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald’s Fun Football sessions this Autumn, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. Sign up now for your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football.