Rachel Yankey

Rachel Aba Yankey, OBE (born 1 November 1979) is an English former footballer who played for the England national team. She played as a left winger or forward. She left Arsenal after 13 years in December 2016 at the end of her contract. She is ranked among the Arsenal Ladies Legends.

Quotes

• You have to stand there against people who are probably not supporting women's football and tell them you need more money. That, in itself, takes a lot of guts. At that point, it wasn't easy to win people over.
  • Rachel Yankey interview: England legend on playing in Euro 2005 and the growth of the women's game by Dan Long. June 29, 2022. Retrieved 2023/11/28.
• Expectations and perceptions have changed around women's football, but they will know that they'll have to play their part in increasing the popularity of the game.
• How that will inspire so many young girls and boys to talk about women's football and make it the norm.
• It's looking positive, but it's probably a similar thing with both the men and women's team, they need to have a stronger mentality of knowing they have to win.
  • Rachel Yankey Exclusive Interview With OLBG by Steve Madgwick. June 14, 2022. Retrieved 2023/11/28.
• For players of my generation – and before – there wasn’t money in the game. You were doing it because of your passion.
• I think every female footballer can relate to a woman working in a male-dominated area and championing it. We need to make sure that we support each other.
• I’ve been trying to encourage both boys and girls to get involved in football. There are so many life skills you can learn from football… I want kids to understand the game is for everybody.
• There are many things you can get out of football that you can take into the world of work.
• I don’t think we give kids enough respect for what they understand.
• When you let children lead, you see their minds work in a way that’s different to ours because we’re moulded to think a certain way as we get older.
• I hope people will look at women’s football as the norm.
  • In conversation with England’s first professional female footballer: Rachel Yankey by Vaishali Bhardwaj. June 21, 2023. Retrieved 2023/11/28.
• Confidence is key for any footballer.
• To be honest, everybody thought that I was a boy.
• We all have fears. And it takes a lot to be brave, be confident, and talk about it. And you never know what it may lead to.
  • Rachel Yankey: Everybody thought that I was a boy...they didn't question whether I could play football by Yara El-Shaboury. June 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023/11/28.