Fara Williams Concerned About Disordered Eating in Women’s Football

.....“I worry when I see some of these players, you can see that they`re struggling with their diet. But people will say they look good. What looks good? We don`t look athletic.

“When I look at some of the foreign national teams, you look athletic, you can see a difference in somebody that looks athletic and somebody that looks skinny, and somebody that doesn`t eat because they want to look a certain way.

“I spoke about it quite regularly with some of my club coaches, it`s not right we just talk about being a certain body fat percentage, that`s not educating people.

“Or you get fat-tested every time you go into camp. And if you`re not under a certain body percentage, you go into fat club. For me, to label something as fat club as a professional is crazy. I was always worried as a player. I was never in fat club; I would never go, I would just not play the game.

“The term was openly used at big clubs in the WSL; an openly-used term, you go to fat club. That`s something I`ve spoken about for years to managers at club level, because I`ve always disagreed with how the body fat percentages have been used, especially with women......

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Bethany`s Notes: How we talk about others and what we say as coaches, parents, and peers matter. Use your words wisely.