One of the fastest players in the women’s game, carving her own track to the top, it was a pleasure to have Liverpool’s Rinsola Babajide as the guest for episode six of our UNMARKED podcast, hearing about her journey so far and her aspirations for the future.
Having been a part of the WU20s team who clinched bronze at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2018, Rinsola Babajide rightly earned her first call up to the senior England setup back in September, marking the next great milestone in her career. While she still awaits her first cap, at 22 she continues to gain admiration for her performances on the pitch with Liverpool – albeit now in the women’s championship this season following her side’s relegation in 2019/20. But that hasn’t stopped the focus and determination to succeed, and having signed a new contract at Anfield in June 2020, she’ll be hoping to help boost her England chances by firing them to promotion.
Following in the footsteps of one of her idols, Eni Aluko, Babajide is a player of Nigerian descent who is targeting glory with the Lionesses. From London to Liverpool, this episode discusses her character and aspirations as well as the highs in her journey so far. An unfiltered conversation with a player who deserves more of the spotlight, you can expect to hear a lot more from her in 2021.
Our conversation with Babajide arrives as the latest episode of UNMARKED, our podcast that brings you conversations with footballers in their natural element, talking about life on and off the pitch, their interests and more. Hosted by 'Out Of Home' – a collective of four Londoners based in Amsterdam who ask real questions that real fans want to hear – it's a chance to celebrate black culture in football and shine a light on poignant social issues in the game.
With racism, I think the kneeling before a game is massive, but I still think that there is more that can be done. But it’s a good start"
Now that I’ve got a sniff of what it’s like being a senior Lioness I just want to maintain being up there and being one of the main players, so one of my goals for 2021 is to always get a call up to the squad”
I feel like there’s more that can be done, but the way that it’s going right now is just so positive. Seeing internationals from different countries coming to play in the WSL, it makes the league stronger”
Our goalkeeper would barely turn up so I thought I’d take one for the team and I started playing in goal. Then the goalie stopped turning up altogether, and I thought ‘I actually like this position,’ and so I played in goal for pretty much a whole season”
Listen to the full episode with Rinsola Babajide on Spotify.
