To complete our nationwide group of eight sponsored players for 2021/22, Impetus is proud to announce we are sponsoring Brighouse Town winger Leah Embley. Impetus editor Ben Gilby spoke to Leah ahead of the new FA Women’s National League Northern Premier season.
Artwork supplied by Brighouse Town FC.
Leah began playing football from a young age, and has gone on to achieve big things in the game.
“I started when I was nine years old for a local team. I played locally from 9-16. I then played for Accross College and later signed for Burnley FC Women. Whilst at Burnley I won the Players’ Player of the Year Award, two league titles and National League Division One Player of the Year. I then went on to sign for Blackburn Rovers last season where I made my first appearance in the FA Women’s Championship and then signed for Brighouse Town in tier three for this coming season. I would describe myself as a quick winger who is hard working and committed and passionate about football.”
Leah credits several people with helping her to become the player she is today: “I always used to play football with my brother when I was younger so I would say he has helped me a lot. I enjoyed my time at Burnley, the environment that was created there was amazing to be a part of and I learnt so much during my time there.”
Last season, Leah made the step up to the FA Women’s Championship with Blackburn Rovers, something she described as being: “A rollercoaster season. I enjoyed making my debut in the Championship and I learnt a lot about myself as a person and a player. I was very resilient whilst I was there and wouldn’t regret anything as I gave everything every week.”
The coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for everyone, but Leah feels that the last sixteen months or so have included some positive developments in her footballing career.
“Personally, the pandemic has allowed me to improve my mind-set. I signed up to a footballer’s mind-set course during lockdown and completed it a few months ago.
This helped me massively and helped me become more confident as a person and also as a player. I also used it as a time to focus on setting some personal goals and used it as a time to work on myself fitness wise.”
Leah was recently unveiled by Brighouse Town as one of a raft of impressive signings ahead of their first campaign in Tier Three. She was very clear about how easy a decision it was to join them.
“They’ve always seemed like a great club whenever I have played against them and once I’d spoken to manager Rob Mitchell and met the girls I knew it was a club that I wanted to commit to and be a part of. The girls and staff have been really welcoming and I am ready for the new season ahead. I think it will be a tough season as a new team in this league but there’s some quality players here and the coaches are brilliant too so it will be interesting to see how we can push on. I am very excited for this one.”
“I want to help the team in every way I can whether that’s with assists or goals. I always enjoy getting in amongst the goals but sometimes an assist can be just as crucial.”
We look forward to following Leah and Brighouse Town’s progress closely throughout the season.
For more information on all the other players that Impetus sponsor plus our Content Partnerships with grassroots clubs and our Charity Partner, Moriarty Foundation, click here.
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