March 14, 2019

Nikita Parris scored her first hat-trick for Manchester City since a 5-0 win at home against Yeovil in May 2018. Nikita Parris hat-trick helped Manchester City edge past Reading and extend their lead at the top of the Women’s Super League.

Parris, an England regular was part of England’s she believes Cup-winning campaign, and she’s the WSL’s all-time leading goalscorer at just 25.

Playing football as a full-time professional was beyond her dreams, She joined a local all-boys team as a 7-year-old, the moment she knew football was something she wanted to pursue. ” that moment I enjoyed it, I stayed concentrated always knowing what I wanted to do.”

Parris said things changed when she moved to Manchester City, she became a full time professional, City had a methodology and philosophy which all teams played and she wanted to fit in right, walking in the direction the team was headed, which is bright for the future of women’s football. “they said the future will start with the team, with me… I just knew this team was for me”

She is a graduate of sports development something she did before joining City as a plan B “obviously a football career is only 15-20 years long, you don’t know what’s going to happen in your career, there could be injuries, illnesses that put you out for a long time.”

She got support from the people around her, but her determination to do well was the key, hence the reason she takes her role seriously as a role model “I feel that I had an obligation to be a role model, to ensure that women’s football lasts long above my playing career, its an amazing feeling to see a young girl come up and say, ‘I want to be you’ but I always say to them, don’t be me, be better than me”.

Despite her youth, the free-scoring forward has already changed lives for the better back in her own community, setting up an Academy, she said “What inspired me to start was seeing the lack of opportunities I had in my local area in Liverpool, I saw way too many young people on the streets doing nothing when they can be doing something so I wanted to set up the academy, particularly football because it’s our national sport and give everyone equal opportunities.”

Her passion for the game is her best trait – evident for all to see from the second she steps onto the pitch – and her dedication is second to none, but for Parris, playing the game at the highest level is not solely about silverware. It’s about providing a pathway for more women and girls to play the beautiful game, without experiencing the hardships she and the others before she once had