The footballing journeys of Manchester City’s Nikita Parris and West Ham’s Rosie Kmita have been depicted in motion projections in a video produced by the FA, as the two players prepare to go head to head in the Women’s FA Cup final this Saturday.
The video traces the journeys of Kmita, 24, and Parris, 25, from their hometowns to Wembley Stadium, via the places that have played a role in their success.
Parris – who was named Women’s Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association this week – began her journey in Toxteth, Liverpool, where she fell in love with the sport at the age of seven.
“My earliest memory of football was in my mum’s front garden,” Parris said. “I used to kick the ball at the window, because there were no bits of wall.”
Parris was part of Phil Neville’s SheBelieves Cup-winning team in March, and with 19 goals in as many league games this season, she is a shoe-in to represent England at the Women’s World Cup this summer. Even so, Saturday’s game will be one of the biggest moments of her career.
“It’s one I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Parris said. “My first memory of the FA Cup must have been when I was about 11 or 12. As a child, I always wanted to be that girl in front of the goal in the FA Cup final, putting the ball in the back of the net.”
The England forward will have the chance to do just that on Saturday, in front of a record attendance for the fixture. As of Wednesday afternoon, 52,000 tickets had been sold and distributed, trumping the existing record for the Women’s FA Cup final – 45,423 last year.
West Ham winger Kmita is just as determined to fulfil her own dream.
Kmita’s footballing journey began in a park in Enfield, London, where she would play with her identical twin, Mollie, a fellow footballer.
The winger, who will make her first appearance at Wembley on Saturday, said: “It’s been an incredible journey, getting here.
“My dad was definitely the reason I play football. He would always take me and my sister to the park to play. We’d go there and practise for hours. I suppose we didn’t really see it as practising – we were just doing what we loved.
“To be at Wembley, in front of thousands of fans, is something every football fan dreams of. I never thought I’d be experiencing moments like this.”
Rosie and Mollie had played together at every club throughout their careers, until the former went pro with West Ham last year.
“I liked the look of the club and what they were doing,” Kmita said. “They had really big ambitions and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Despite their ambitions, West Ham will still be the underdogs at Wembley. The east London side, positioned seventh in the Women’s Super League, are facing second-placed City, who are 24 points ahead of them in the table.
That sits fine with Kmita, though, who knows that the FA Cup is the perfect platform for an upset.
“As a kid, I always wanted the underdogs to win,” she said. “It was always a massive time for their fans.”
The record-breaking attendance for Saturday’s final shows that this is a massive time for women’s football, too.
