'I struggled to find a team growing up – now I'm an Arsenal star and England record-breaker'

Lionesses and heroine footballing beginnings were not all plain sailing - but they've created a player with very little left to prove. Mead's rise from North Yorkshire obscurity to a talismanic figure in has seen her lift a title and while ascending to national fame after claiming the first major trophy won by any England senior side since 1966 in 2022.

While this may have been enough for some, even a couldn't cull the fire that burns inside Mead, who is looking to break down more barriers than she already has, with a WSL title race to play out and a pressure-filed Euros on the horizon.

"I struggled to find a women's football team or a girl's football team when I was younger," Mead admitted, while attending a McDonald's Fun session where she inspired young children. "I think I'm quite jealous at the fact these kids have got such easy access, we've got over 1600 locations, 750,000 kids involved.

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"But we all have our own journeys. I lived in the sticks. I went to Saturday morning sessions, but there were not very many of us. It was only the kids from the village, all boys, which is fine. My mum said, 'She's fine!' My mum knew me pretty well, and she always came back an hour later, and coaches were like, 'Wow, she's pretty rough and got stuck in.' They actually told me to go towards Middlesbrough way, which was like 45 minutes from me.

"I had to go play for a boy's team. Obviously, there weren't girl's teams then. I don't regret any part of my journey. I think it moulded me to the person and player that I am now. But don't get me wrong, I had the mick took out me when I came on the pitch by parents and boys, playing against them, and again [this] moulded me to who I am."

The prolific forward's footballing adventure took her from Teeside to Wearside, where she helped rocket up the football pyramid with her goals. In 2017, she became an player, and hasn't looked back since. Undoubtedly, Mead's crowning moment thus far was her domination over UEFA Women's Euro 2022, where Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards capped off a record-breaking, football-transcending win for the .

"I think we're very aware as a team of what we've done to football, especially in the UK," uttered Mead. "The Euros absolutely exploded. Amazing, of how we did, but obviously [this] helped grassroots and above to elevate the women's game to the next level, and I'm proud to be a part of that. All the girls that were part of that team are very proud of what we've done, and we've got to now keep helping push it as long as we're all playing. Hopefully the next generation can do so as well."

This summer, England head to Switzerland for Euro 2025 as the heralded holders, and Mead admits that Sarina Weigman's squad will face their fair share of hungry adversaries - beginning with a difficult group consisting of France, the Netherlands and Wales.

"We wanted to go and win that prize, and we did that. We now have to look ahead to this summer, and be able to go and do it again with a target on our back," elaborated Mead. "Obviously, we want to peak at the right moment during the Euros. I think we've got a lot of expectations on us as a team now. 'We've got to win' - both from, fans, media, ourselves.

"But, we've got to peak at the right time. We've got to get the right performances in, and we know who we're playing in the groups. We've got to prepare best to be able to play against them.

Asked whether the immense pressure of heading into such a tournament as the holders is felt, Mead retorted: "In the right way. The expectation is understandable. We have higher expectations of ourselves as individuals and as a team. There's no one who wants to play well and perform more than we do as players, but it comes part and parcel of it now - and where the game's elevated to - that the pressure and the expectation then increases too."

Before the summer's international offerings commence, however, there is the small matter of a WSL title to be competed for. While reigning and ever-dominant champions have prevailed in the past five years and hold a significant lead over the Gunners with just months left of the current campaign, Mead hasn't lost all hope.

"We can only control what's in front of us now," admitted the 29-year-old. "I think we didn't have the best start to the season. That's always a problem. There's not many games that you can mess up in and play catch up, which is not ideal when you've got a team like Chelsea, who have not been beaten until the other day.

"So we've obviously been chasing, we can only control what we're doing. We've got to be consistent throughout the season, which we haven't been. But all we can do now is win the games that are in front of us, and that's our ultimate goal as an Arsenal team right now."

Teams play just 22 matches in the WSL, and, as Mead acknowledges, slip-ups simply cannot happen - making the league itself, even considering the Blues' omnipotence, an incredibly hard competition to win.

"It's so hard," added Mead. "Fair play to Chelsea over the last few years. The game's got to such a high level, and they've consistently won it and are looking very likely to win it again this year. But there's not a lot of games to play within the league. And if you let yourself down in a couple of them, you're playing catch-up very quickly.

"There's so many good teams from top to bottom that can take points off each other, which you don't see in a lot of leagues. I think that's where the women's game in the WSL is right now. And, as a team, we know that. So that's why we've got to do better throughout the season to be competing or be closer by the end."

Change has encompassed Arsenal this season, with Renée Slegers installed as permanent boss, and one of Mead's international team-mates, Chloe Kelly, offered a loan return to the club she last played for in 2018.

"Chloe is a good personality. She's settled in great," admitted Mead. "She's obviously been at Arsenal before. So it's been like a duck to water again. It's just nice to see Chloe back on the pitch, happy and doing what she loves doing again.

"[The] competition always makes us better and it motivates us as individuals. We're all working hard, and it's a managers decision, whether it be tactically or whoever she wants in the team. But we're all pushing each other, which is what we want and what we want for England as well."

McDonald's Fun Football and UK Deaf Sport are offering free, specialised football sessions for children with hearing impairments across England. Find your nearest session at

Beth Mead continuing to break down barriers with McDonald's Fun Football

Arsenal and England's Mead continues to shatter barriers - and is making a difference of the pitch with McDonald's and their Fun Football sessions. This Lioness took the nation by an unparalleled storm when she and her peers brought home Euro 2022, elevating the women's game to an inclusive new level. Three years on, the player of that oh-so-iconic tournament is not done yet. Mead has partnered with McDonald's, who offer their introductory Fun Football sessions to children aged 5-11 up and down the country.

The programme's partnership with UK Deaf Sport aims to highlight the importance of British Sign Language in the sports industry while offering sessions tailored for hard-of-hearing or deaf children across the UK, and Mead is helping front such efforts.

"We've been collaborating with UK Deaf Sport, and have had a BSL sign language expert come in and teach me and the kids some basic sign language," said Mead. "We find it super important here at Fun Football to have all abilities, everyone feeling comfortable in their own skin, and to make the sessions as inclusive as possible.

"Adding this partnership to our ranks is something that we're proud of. Hopefully, we can make kids of any ability feel comfortable coming to a Fun Football session."

While Mead admits that she and her Lionesses team-mates have brought football in the UK forward leaps and bounds, the 29-year-old stresses that there is still a lot more to be done.

"It's important," she continued. "There are so many barriers within sport and football itself. So for us to try and break them down, make people feel as comfortable in their own skin, and not be put off by maybe a disability they have - or less ability - that's our whole [aim], we want everyone to feel included, regardless.

"So that's why it's super important for us to be able to push this. As a role model at a high level. We want you not to have an excuse or a reason not to be able to play football.

"Hopefully, we're doing the right thing and a good job, and we're helping young [kids], the next generation of boys and girls, to have their journey as easy as possible and as close as possible to where they live, so it's easy to get to."