A flag bearer for female footballers during her playing days, Marieanne Spacey is currently revelling in her new role as assistant coach of the England Women’s team.
The former Arsenal and Fulham forward won every domestic honour in the game and scored a respectable 28 goals in 91 England appearances.
Alongside Gillian Coultard, Karen Walker, Hope Powell and Debbie Bampton, Spacey is widely regarded as one of the pioneers who helped propel women’s football to where it is today.
Spacey helped England beat Finland in Cyprus
To mark International Women’s Day, FATV caught up with Spacey at the Cyprus Cup, where she is assisting Three Lions Head Coach Mark Sampson, to discuss women’s football past and present.
Spacey said: "It’s really great to be back involved. When the opportunity came up [to coach England] I realised how excited I’d be and how much it did mean to me to do it.
"To be on the other side from playing to now being on the coaching staff; I’m totally embracing it, living the dream."
She continued: "The support around a squad now is fantastic.
"The speed of the game, the technical ability of the players... the growth has been immense. [Women’s football] has always been competitive, but there’s another edge to that competitiveness now."
Having enjoyed a distinguished career on the pitch, for which she was rewarded with a place in the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2009, Spacey turned her hand to coaching.
She admits that she initially found it difficult to make the switch from player to coach, but quickly educated herself to fully appreciate the demands of her new calling.
After retiring in 2005 Spacey took control of Fulham Ladies before gaining further coaching experience working with the England U16s, U17s and U19s as well as roles at Arsenal and Charlton Athletic.
In 2006, she joined The FA as Regional Coach Development Manager and was appointed England Women’s assistant coach – and Under-23 Head Coach – in December last year.
England defeated Italy in their Cyprus Cup opener
Spacey added: "It took me a bit of time to really understand football [as a coach] because everything you do as a player you do naturally from cues and triggers on the pitch, but you have to break that down as a coach and analyse it.
"To step away sometimes is the best thing, to learn and educate yourself as a coach.
"I went down the coach education route so I learnt about speaking in front of people, breaking things down with people and group work."
Meanwhile, in a further nod to International Women’s Day, The FA’s Director of National Game and Women’s Football, Kelly Simmons, and FA Board member and non-executive director Heather Rabbatts were named among The Guardian’s top 50 most influential women in British sport.
Simmons said: "I'm very pleased to be mentioned. It's an impressive list of women who are making a much needed difference.
"I think these lists are useful because they demonstrate the number of women working in what was once a male preserve.
"It shows young women that there are opportunities to progress across a range of sectors within not just football, but right across the sporting industry."
England internationals Casey Stoney and Kelly Smith are also on the list.
Watch the full FATV interview with Spacey above
