Ali Johnson began her career at Blackburn Rovers’ Centre of Excellence before going on to play for Liverpool and Bristol City in the Women’s Super League and securing a place in the England Under 20 squad for the 2018 World Cup in France.

In a heartfelt interview with The Players Foundation, Ali described the challenges faced by professional players in the women’s game, in particular the huge gulf in earnings with their male counterparts and the impact that injuries can have on career prospects. 

Ali said: ‘Obviously, we’d all love to be paid more than we are because we do the same work as the men. When I was playing professionally, we trained five days a week and had the same commitments as the men.

‘We’re not saying that we expect £140,000 a week, it’s just about giving us the tools so that in the future we can make as much money as the men, or maybe a little bit less. Hopefully, with more investment over the next 10 years, the gap will close further and further.’

27-year-old Ali has also played for Sheffield United and Durham and is currently at Wythenshawe in the FA Women’s National League, where she’s supporting the growth of new talent: ‘I want to help them be the best kind of player they can be, by putting their heads down and working as hard as they can.’

And Ali still harbours ambitions to return to the professional game: ‘I know what it takes to be at the top level, and I do miss it. For me, it’s the whole routine of training to become a better athlete and then competing on a weekend to put that into practice.’

• Ali Johnson is a beneficiary of The Players Foundation, which supports current and former professional footballers and scholars, who are in charitable need.