Clare J McEwen

I fell in love with football as a girl in the 1980s. Like many girls growing up, that love didn’t come with access or visibility - it came with sidelong glances and calls of “tomboy”. But women’s football existed, at least in pockets. It just wasn’t visible or acknowledged, certainly not in my corner of Cornwall.

Fast forward a few decades, and I found myself amongst a sea of fans watching the Lionesses at Wembley in 2019. Although I'd followed the major women's tournaments on TV, I knew I'd missed a big chunk of the history of the game. I needed to find out how the game had grown so big when, for most of my life, it had barely been shown. I wanted to know what I’d missed. I wanted to know the stories. So I wrote She Can Kick It. And haven't looked back.

I’m a writer and author specialising in women’s football, covering the game’s history, culture, and current stories. My work focuses on how women’s football has survived restriction, navigates growth, and continues to shape pathways for players and fans. I write books and articles on the women’s game and have contributed to podcasts, broadcast, and print media.