Suzanne Winters – Player, Pundit and Football School Owner

Suzanne Winters made over 100 appearances for Scotland after first being capped as a sixteen-year-old. She won trophies on both sides of the border during spells at Glasgow City, Hibernian, Arsenal and Celtic. Now retired as a player, the Sky Sports pundit has launched the Suzanne Winters School of Football. We discussed the school, her time in the game, being pregnant as a player. Also, the online abuse that comes with being a woman in football.

School of Football

The recently founded school offers coaching for young girls that hope to emulate the career of Winters, who played most of her career using her maiden name of Grant. Launching her own coaching school was not at the forefront of Suzanne’s mind as she coached her sons’ football team. It was one of her fellow coaches that put the idea to her.

“I coach for my sons’ team. One of the other coaches asked why I didn’t have my own football school. It was always a struggle when I was younger being involved in a sport that was deemed to be a men’s game. There was a nervousness in me that it wouldn’t work out. That there would not be a market for it. I am an older player so I thought that young girls maybe wouldn’t sign up if they didn’t really know me as a player. As much as I achieved in the game, I probably doubted myself. I felt I was stepping out of my comfort zone.

It took a bit of persuasion to convince me but I wanted to give something back to the game. To have ex-players with their own football schools for girls is really important. It is something that wasn’t there when I was young. I have done a couple of camps and other sessions now and it has been really successful.”

Quite humble

It came as a surprise to me that a player with over a century of international caps would doubt their stature in the game. I cannot imagine a player in the men’s game with so many international appearances feeling that way. It is not until you remember the lack of visibility in the game when Winters was playing, that you realise why she doubted young players would know who she was.

“I never doubted what I achieved. I have always been quite humble about the teams I have played for and the number of times I have played for my country. It was always in the back of my mind that these young girls were not going to know who I am. Even when I was playing, there was no visibility in the game. Even my own boys will ask to see videos of me playing as they can watch their dad. I had to explain that I don’t have many clips to show them as there wasn’t anyone there to film the games. I think that might be the same for a lot of players of my generation. The doubting how they will be viewed because they games were less visible when they played.”

No visibility

“There was little to no coverage of games when I was playing. There would be the occasional Scotland game on BBC Alba if it was an important game or a qualifier but not much else. I have my goal from my one-hundredth cap game. It was in America. It was streamed on a US channels and we played that in front of eighteen-thousand fans over there.

We would sometimes get given the games on a disc to analyse. We always had to hand the disc back so it could be used again. That is something the girls won’t have to worry about now with all the coverage of matches. I would have loved to have been able to show my boys some of the goals I scored at club and for my country. The visibility is important for growing the game. It is also important for memories and to have something to look back on.”

Football family

As Winters mentioned, she is part of football family with husband David being a former player and now manager. Suzanne’s twin sister Shelley also played football for Scotland. David’s brother Robbie also picked up a cap for his country. Suzanne and David have two boys who are keen footballers but the footballing parents would never push the youngsters towards the career that they chose.

“My boys are 10 and 6.Iit is difficult for them to understand why they can watch their dad’s games but not mine. They have grown up having footballers for both parents. There is no difference between the men’s and women’s games for them. A couple of kids at school have been surprised about one of the mums playing football. My boys have never known anything different. My eldest Oscar used to be mascot for his dad’s game on a Saturday then mascot for his mum’s match on the Sunday. It is really special for me and David to have those memories. For me, after coming back really quick after my pregnancy and working really hard to get back on the pitch, moments like having Oscar as mascot made it worthwhile.”

No pressure

“We would never push our kids into doing something just because it was a sport that we enjoyed though. There is no pressure from me and David. At that age it should all be about fun and if they didn’t enjoy it then that’s alright. They both enjoy it at the minute and it is nice as parent to be involved in that. I take my wee one Theo’s training. They are really young but it is so rewarding to see the look on their faces and see them enjoying it. I have my own experience as a player to call on as well as being a parent and a coach so I have all that to call when dealing with the youngsters.”

Perspective

It is that experience that is so vital as Suzanne starts her own football school. The issues she encountered off the field also give her perspective in terms of some of the non-football things that young players need to overcome.

“I got my first cap for Scotland when I was sixteen. At that point I’d not really been in or around a women’s team environment. I moved to Glasgow City when I was seventeen and already had a couple of caps at that point. It was playing for Scotland that got me that first move.

Me and my twin sister used to drive down to Glasgow City from Grantown four or five times a week. I didn’t drive so poor Shelly had to do all the driving. I met David and ended up moving down there but Shelly kept commuting up and down. That was a big part of her deciding to stop playing, I think. She was also really driven to start a family young where I left it later. I think that was a factor along with having to make that journey on her own.

Glasgow City to Hibernian

Then I moved across from Glasgow City to Hibs and that was a great move for me. I was quite shy and timid when I first came down. The fact I was travelling a lot at City made it difficult to form relationships with the other players. When I moved to Hibs, I was more settled and could socialise with the team which is a big part of feeling part of the group. It was a great team to play for and it was a real game changer in my career signing for Hibs. It was a surreal moment for me as I was just a wee girl from the Highlands who played football with the boys. I never dreamed that I could be a professional and playing for clubs like Glasgow City who have been a driving force for the women’s game and then Hibs.”

Arsenal

The lengthy commute to training returned when Suzanne signed for Arsenal. The prospect of moving to London was a daunting one but the opportunity to play for Arsenal was too good to turn down.

“It was really difficult. When I got the call at Hibs and was told Arsenal wanted to speak to me, I thought ‘wow.’ It was a huge step for me, even moving to Glasgow from the Highlands was a big move, so London would have been huge for me. I would never have forgiven myself if I had said no to the opportunity of Arsenal but I just wasn’t ready to move to London. I flew down and back from training, sometimes I had to come off with ten minutes to go in games so I could make it to the airport for my flight home.

The girls at Arsenal were amazing but I could never go on a team building night or socialise with them because I always had to get back to Scotland. Kelly Smith was out injured when I got there but when she came, I knew she was a class above me and that I would be on the bench behind her. I had the chance of a new contract but I had been training with Celtic and they offered me the chance to sign which was a no-brainer for me. I was able to stay at home and be more a part of the squad and I had a great six years at Celtic.”

Pregnancy

Suzanne had already returned to playing following the birth of her first son Oscar. A freak knee injury when pregnant with second son Theo would ultimately bring an end to Winters’ career. How her pregnancy and return was handled is something that she hopes has moved on in the modern game.

“They are getting right down in England now, paying maternity pay and players’ rehab after coming back from pregnancy. I trained right through my pregnancy until I was seven months. I was training and not playing so I didn’t get paid. When I came back, I played ninety minutes when Oscar was just five weeks old. I have complications with my body now that were probably caused by the fact that I pushed myself to get back.

When I was pregnant with Theo I tried to do the same, but I split my knee open on glass that was on the pitch and that kind of finished me off. I knew I would be out for a while and I would have another kid to look after. My mind kind of changed at that point and I didn’t feel that I had the support from the game that I should have. It wasn’t the clubs being ruthless or doing it out of malice. There were just no other players that had been pregnant and they didn’t know how to deal with it. You look at it now and it has totally changed, especially in America. You constantly see Alex Morgan travelling with her little one to games and I would have loved the opportunity to do that.”

Behind the microphone

Since leaving her on-pitch career behind, Suzanne has moved behind the microphone as a pundit for Sky Sports. Her enthusiastic updates, particularly when covering Scotland, show her love of the game and make for entertaining viewing.

“How I am on the telly I will never know. I went to an awards night and Lawrie Ann Brown, who works at Sky, was there. She said she thought I would be good on TV and she has been a great support for me in getting involved in that world. When I came away from the game after getting injured at Motherwell I had not really wanted to give up at that point. All I had known my whole life was being a footballer and that had gone and I was just a mum and a wife. I felt I had lost a bit of my identity. Sky came along at the right time for me to feel like I still had a place in the women’s game.”

Low point

“I had hit a bit of a low point as I was injured and had finished playing but I wasn’t coaching yet so had no involvement. It felt a bit like it was fate that the Sky opportunity came up at that time. TV was not something that I thought about or planned but I thoroughly enjoy it. It still makes me laugh that they put me on national telly. It is something I am very grateful for that I get this opportunity.

When I cover the national team, I forget about the camera and I just watch it like a fan. I know some of the players personally and I have seen them come a long, long way on their journey. I’m their biggest fan and I feel like I kick every ball from in the stand. I get carried away and they often end up laughing at me in the studio in England.”

Online abuse

One negative that comes from television punditry, especially for a female, is online abuse. I asked Suzanne if that was the reason that she keeps her social media accounts relatively well locked down.

“That is one-hundred percent why I locked down my accounts. I don’t really have people that I don’t know on there. I dipped my toe in when I was doing some of the men’s games during the Euros. It was just predictions and previews; I wasn’t even covering the games. I found the abuse I got really difficult. It put me off getting involved in media work in the men’s game. I have turned some opportunities down for that reason.

I really struggle with the fact that people want to send me abuse because I am a woman talking about football. My boys have had a few comments made to them at school too which is really sad. After covering a women’s game, I will look at the messages sitting in my requests folder. Some of them are positive but there will always be five or ten really bad comments. They are the ones that I can’t get out of my head.”

Sexist comments

“I get sexist comments and comments about my appearance. It is never about football or something I have said in the coverage. That is something I need to get better at dealing with. It is stopping me taking on opportunities and it is a job, so that means turning away money. I know male pundits get a lot of abuse but which isn’t ok, but it’s almost always about something they have said or an opinion. They would never get anything sexual.

I get men making sexual comments and it is people with family in their profile picture, maybe a daughter. I just cannot imagine a male with a female in their family being happy about their family member getting sent that sort of comment. That is the sort of thing I really struggle with. It is something I would never ever want my boys to go online and see. That is why I lock down my social media.”

Special moments

I wanted to end of a positive note. So, I asked Suzanne to reflect on some of her favourite moments over her 100+ Scotland caps.

“I always thought the cap I was winning would be my last one, so I never took it for granted. When I got to one-hundred caps I just felt like ‘how did I get here’. It was in America in front of eighteen-thousand fans. I was still getting goosebumps just pulling on the Scotland shirt.

My very last cap was against Spain at Hampden. I was pregnant with Oscar at the time and I knew that was going to be my last cap. I did not want to come off the pitch. When I look back over my career it is all the special moments spent with team-mates that I remember. The things we still speak about now when we talk to each other. Playing for my country and making amazing friends for life was something I was always grateful for. Every game I played for Scotland felt as special as the first one.”

Follow Suzanne’s Football School on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzannewintersschooloffootball?igsh=MThqZW40cmZ4eDZ4eg==