Football News Update: Euro 2024, Champions League, and More
As the former England youth international Flo Allen recalls the near-impossible task of trying to keep pace with a young Lauren Hemp in training, the look in her eyes momentarily resembles half shudder, half admiration. This sentiment is one that right-backs up and down the country have felt, but Allen, who grew up playing alongside Hemp in Norwich’s centre of excellence and later at Bristol City in the Women’s Super League, knows the feeling better than anyone.
“Yes, I had the very nice privilege of marking her throughout my whole childhood,” a chuckling Allen says. “The pace she had at under-10s was frightening, let alone later, and her left foot, at that age โ wow.”
Allen, who is now the Norwich women’s general manager, has been eagerly anticipating the Euro 2024 qualifier at Carrow Road on Friday, when the 23-year-old Manchester City winger will return home as England face the Republic of Ireland.
Allen has known Hemp since the Euro 2022 winner was eight and fondly remembers the Lioness’s early years. “Lauren had such an unorthodox way of playing that we’d never seen before: someone who was just so direct, so powerful and dynamic,” she says.
The Football Association’s women’s technical director, Kay Cossington, who worked with the England girls’ youth teams and selected Hemp for the Under-15s almost a decade ago, was immediately impressed by the young talent. “We’ve seen many, many talented players that haven’t made it โ but Lauren loved the game. It never looked like she absorbed any pressure, she just enjoyed playing,” Cossington says.
As Hemp and her former teammate Allen signed for Bristol City in 2016 as teenagers, senior players were quickly in awe of Hemp’s skills. “In training, she would pick up the ball on the halfway line and dribble around everyone. It was almost like the ball was on a piece of string on the end of her left foot,” Allen recalls.
With Hemp’s development closely monitored by the England technical staff, her move from Norwich to Bristol City was a brave but necessary step. “Lauren and many others kind of had no choice at that time โ they had to move. That was a fantastic and brave move for Lauren to go to Bristol,” Cossington says.
Norwich’s women’s team, which has a proud history of developing professional players, is hoping a bustling crowd at Carrow Road will be inspired to engage with the women’s game. The club is committed to retaining its homegrown talent, including the likes of Hemp, and making its mark on the women’s football landscape.
As the Euro 2024 qualifier approaches, all eyes will be on Lauren Hemp as she returns to her hometown, with the Lioness hoping to help England clinch another major tournament victory. The journey of this exceptional talent, from the Norwich centre of excellence to the pinnacle of the women’s game, is a testament to the remarkable development of women’s football.
๐ Source