"I've always been quite confident myself," Leah Williamson tells The Week Junior, "but more shy than people realise."
Williamson is the captain of the England women's football team, the Lionesses, who won the Euro 2022 tournament (联赛). However, reaching such heights hasn't always been easy and she's had to learn how to believe in herself. Using her own experiences, she has written a book with journalist Susan, called You Have the Power: Find Your Strength and Believe You Can, to encourage young people.
Football has always been a big part of Williamson's life, ever since she started playing at the age of six. She says, "It's probably the one thing in my life that I've been truly passionate about the whole time." Her family loved it too, and were divided between supporting Hotspur and Arsenal—rival (竞争对手) clubs in north London. When she was a child, her family encouraged Williamson not to be scared, even if it felt intimidating to take part in a sport that was mostly played by boys. By teaching her important lessons, such as how to have faith in herself, her family helped her to grow.
She hopes she can encourage readers to achieve their dreams—football-related or not. "I'm not trying to make everybody that reads this book the next best footballer in the world," she says. "I'm just trying to give them a sense of how amazing it feels to look at yourself and be proud."
You Have the Power: Find Your Strength and Believe You Can is out in bookshops now.
