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BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year 2022: Beth Mead profile
Age: 27 Position: Forward Teams: Arsenal and England
After a disappointing campaign for both club and country during 2020-21, which ended with her being left out of the Team GB squad for the Tokyo Olym, Beth Mead bounced back with a bang last season.
Voted Arsenal’s player of the season, Mead racked up 11 goals and eight assists in a campaign in which the Gunners came desperately close to clinching the title, missing out by just one point to Chelsea.
That was before the winger became a national household name during Euro 2022, claiming the Golden Boot and player of the tournament as the Lionesses won their first major tournament.
Mead on…
… winning the Golden Boot at the Euros:
“It’s not something at the start of the tournament I’d even remotely thought about for even a second.
“For me, I’m very much happy to win with the team, do what I can do for the team and, if that helps, then that’s great but to come away with top scorer and player of the tournament was a dream come true.
“I get up on a morning to do my job like anyone else does. Yes we get accolades for breaking records and doing these things but at the end of the day I just continue to say ‘I’m just Beth and I play football’. It’s as simple as that for me.”
… bouncing back from Olympic disappointment:
“Obviously, I struggled in that time but I came back motivated and hungrier than ever and kind of wanted to show people what I was about on the football pitch and prove that one down period doesn’t mean that it’s going to stop me as a footballer.
“I do believe in things happening for a reason and possibly that had to happen. I had to have that low to get the high that I’ve had this season with club and country.
“Luckily, I’ve not had too many lows in my career. That was my first real blow, I’m very proud of myself for the way I’ve bounced back and what I’ve done last season.
“Life throws a lot of things at you, you have a lot of ups and downs and, in terms of that, I’ve had to embrace both and I’ve really enjoyed the highs, so yeah, it’s part and parcel of life and sometimes you learn from it.”
Beth Mead’s highlight of the year is celebrating her Euros success with her family
… building on Euros success:
“We want to create a lasting legacy, not one where we’ve got a buzz around the women’s game for a couple of months because of what we’ve done.
“Now it’s just the beginning, we’ve got to push on and keep pushing the women’s game to the next level – it’s the least it deserves.
“Hopefully we can do that as a collective through clubs and country and keep projecting it to the level it deserves.”
… how her life has changed:
“Walking down the street has been a little bit different, being recognised a lot more. I went on holiday and people recognised who I was there which I found a bit crazy, as I wasn’t in England any more.
“But for me, it means the game is heading in the right direction, you know who I am, you know who my team-mates are and hopefully the women’s game can now project even further.”
… her highlight of the last year:
“Winning the European Championship with England – the one moment that sticks with me from it is sharing that moment with my mum, dad and brother at the side of the pitch after that game. They’ve put a lot into their life for me and it was a nice moment for us to share that.
“It’s been a difficult year off the pitch for our family [her mum was diagnosed with cancer]. We really cherished and soaked in that moment together and my mum has been incredible throughout. She’s really been my rock and motivation and she’s the one going through the hard stuff, not me.”
What others say
Arsenal manager Jonas Eidevall: “Sometimes you come into a team as a coach and you have seen players playing on and you have an idea of them – Beth is one of those, I saw her, I saw positive things in her but she absolutely blew my mind with her qualities when I came here.
“I don’t think she has reached her peak yet either. I hope this year is just another stepping stone to greater things.”
Achievements of 2021-22Did you know?Mead is the only English player to win the Golden Boot and player of the tournament at a senior Euros or World CupShe has spoken openly about her sexuality to help others in the LGBTQ+ communityMead holds the record for most assists in WSLShe scored the most goals for England in a season this year (14), surpassing Jimmy Greaves’ record (13)An octopus was named after her following Euro 2022 success
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