Lauren Hemp - from Norwich to Lioness
As the England ace returns to her hometown to face Republic of Ireland at Carrow Road, we take a look at her journey
MATCH CENTRE: ENGLAND v IRELAND
In March 2023, with the afterglow of the Lionesses’ EURO 2022 triumph still burning bright, a seven-metre-high mural of Hemp was painted on a wall of Cafe Kitale in her hometown of North Walsham. The handiwork of street artist Mr Meana, it was a symbol of just how much she means to people in this part of the world. And an illustration of the inspiration she’s providing the next generation of footballers in Norfolk, and beyond.
“We totally respect she’s a Manchester City player but she’s a Norwich fan, she would always come to Carrow Road with her mum and her sister,” says Ian Thornton, CEO of the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation and former technical director when Hemp was coming through the club’s pathway programme.
“We had the opportunity to bring her back here shortly after the EUROs. It was an opportunity for her to meet the fans, and for our supporters to thank her and show how proud we were of her. Lauren is quite shy. I took her down to pitch-side and just said ‘please, just walk out ten or 15 metres’. She walked out and the entire crowd, almost 30,000 people, just got to their feet and applauded her. It was like, ‘wow, this is a real moment’.”
There have been plenty of them in recent years, with Hemp having established herself as one of the standout stars of this Lionesses side. The journey she has taken from Carrow Road to Wembley, via a World Cup in Australia and everywhere else in between, is every bit as incredible as her achievements under Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman.
Just ask Kay Cossington, the FA's women’s technical director, who first saw Hemp play when she was a 12 year old with pace to burn.
“You look at the journeys of so many of these players and they have all been completely different,” she says. “Some have come through grassroots football, some have come through boys’ football, some have come through the academy. There’s not one journey, there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
“Lauren was the product of us doing something different in her region. She first played for England when she was 14 but she was in our pathway before that. At the time, we split the country into seven regions and employed a full-time talent coach in each. Their job, at a really local level, was to identify players and then support them. This is exactly what happened in the east region at that time. It was all about partnering with stakeholders, and getting everyone to come together with Lauren at the centre of it.”
Another key figure in Hemp’s career is Lydia Bedford. Currently the head coach of Brentford’s U18 side, the former head coach in the England women’s pathway programme worked with Hemp at the regional hat and also through the pathway teams which included Georgia Stanway, Alessia Russo and Ella Toone. She was also the technical talent coach for the east of England as Hemp was coming through the ranks at Norwich.
“One of my major memories is Ian phoning me and raving about a goal she had scored,” says Bedford. “He told me that two defenders had come from either side to clear the ball and that she had dived between them and headed it in. There was no fear. Heading is one of her strongest attributes but it doesn’t get mentioned too often. Everyone thinks, speed, pace and left-foot delivery.
“I would go in and watch her at the Centre of Excellence and then the FA made the decision to change the Pathway programme at the end of that year, which meant Lauren had to go back into grassroots football to play matches. It was a conscious decision to broaden players’ learning and expose talented players to mixed football, ensuring regular and competitive competition, a common strategy across many other European nations.
"She was going into Year 11 at the time and started playing for North Walsham in a boy’s U16 league. She knew the club well. I made one trip out to see how she was getting on, and she was absolutely flying! Her coach told me she was consistently the best player on the pitch.
"A stumbling block for girls at that age can be the power and the speed of the boys they’re up against, but that wasn’t a problem for Hempy.”
Bedford and Cossington would continue to cross paths with Hemp as she came through England’s age group sides, with her talent singling her out as a future Lioness, sooner rather than later.
Bedford worked extensively with her family as she graduated from youth football and took her first steps in the professional game with Barclays Women’s Super League side Bristol City. Manchester City would snap the then-17 year old up in the summer of 2018 after a breakout season that saw her score nine goals and scoop the PFA’s young women’s player of the year award.
Just over a year later she would make her England debut off the bench in a 1-0 win over Portugal.
“Her attributes now are exactly the same as the ones that stood out for us back then,” says Cossington. “Her speed was incredible. In the U15s, it was almost like, ‘what do we do with this speed?’. She was that quick. She played as a No.9 for us, then we tried her out wide as an No.11. It was all about exploring the roles she could play. She just kept adding to her game. But her love of football was so obvious. She enjoyed what she did. She would referee U10s football as well! She would referee in the morning and then go and play in the WSL in the afternoon.
"That tells you everything you need to know about these players, they just want to give something back to the sport.”
The last few years have been emotional for Thornton, Cossington and Bedford, who have watched on while Hemp and her teammates have carved their names into the history books. Tears have been shed and hearts have been warmed.
“There are a lot of different coaches that contributed to Lauren’s development, and all of us have looked on with a lot of excitement, and probably a bit of nervousness at times as well,” says Thornton. “There are a couple of standout moments for me – not just the EUROs and the World Cup final – when we watch and think ‘wow, this girl has come from Norwich and been part of our programme from a young school girl’.
“I went to watch her play for England against USA at Wembley. It was full, we were playing the giants of the women’s game and Lauren was playing up front.
"She was playing in front of 80,000 people and it really got me – one of our girls was playing No.9 for England. She scored, and I won’t lie, I cried my eyes out. That was a huge moment. A few minutes after that, she went to close the ball down and got it straight in her face. That just illustrated what football is all about. One moment you’re scoring at Wembley and the next you’re getting a ball in the face and being brought straight back down to earth!
“Lauren has shown you can achieve your dreams if you make sacrifices, work hard and have the talent.”
Still only 23, Hemp’s success story looks set to run and run.