West Bromwich Albion Women striker Mariam Mahmood highlighted the team environment at the club following Albion Women’s 8-0 hammering of Lichfield City.
The win in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup made it three wins in a row for the Baggies.
Mahmood said: “The coaches have been so supportive as well as the team environment.
“I look forward to going to training and just being in that environment.”
The striker pounced to score to add to her tally this season.
The England Colleges International also spoke about, her roots in the game, Albion, the Lionesses, as well as the pipeline for Asian footballers in England.
“I started playing football around the age 12 as my dad and younger brother used to play together so I decided one day to join in.
"Not long after I decided to join a local grassroots club starting football which was all pretty new to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.” said Mahmood.
The attacker was promoted to the senior team in August 2021 following a string of impressive performances for the development squad.
Latest figures from the Professional Footballers Association have revealed that there are 115 players from British South Asian backgrounds out of almost 15,000 players in academy and professional football- just 0.45%
“There isn’t much of a pipeline for Asians footballers especially in women’s football as the scouting system is very limited.
“I think there need to be more successful Asian role models in both the male and female game to inspire others and show them it is possible to be successful no matter what your background is.” the teenager said.
With the talk of inspiration, I asked about the Lionesses’ European Championship win at Wembley and how this impacted her.
“The women winning the Euros was massive for me as I think it brought a lot of attention to women’s football and shows to people who may not take women's football seriously that it isn’t going anywhere and in fact, it's growing.
“Hopefully, it would’ve inspired more girls to start playing football and join local clubs. I believe women’s football is growing by the second and is being taken more seriously across the country and hopefully will continue to do so.”
I ended on quizzing Mahmood on her personal aims for this season following the Baggies’ recent good form.
“My personal aims this season is to stay fit and injury free and be a regular starter and a target as a team is to finish in the top end of the table.”
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