By Katie Daly
With the roaring scream of over 25,000 fans in her ears, Josie Green soaks up the electric energy in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The Red Dragon proudly held up for all to see, the footballer, who sits down with HELLO! for this exclusive interview about her training programme and upcoming wedding, celebrates a win for the history books as Wales qualifies for its first-ever Euros following a 2-1 victory over Ireland.
Elated, Josie hugs her teammates and coaches on the pitch before taking to the changing room where spirits are indulged with a dance party on the benches, shirts swung around the room as the team bust out their best moves.
“It was unreal,” remembers the 32-year-old Wales midfielder ahead of the team’s Euros debut against the Netherlands on 5 July. “It was definitely one of the best moments of my career, and I’ll be in my rocking chair when I’m older telling the family.”
Though the moment Wales qualified last December is one Josie will remember forever, it wasn’t something as a child she would have ever imagined was possible.
“I never thought playing football would be a professional thing until I was 23 or 24 when teams started turning professional,” Josie, who is also a qualified PE teacher, says.
“When I was in my late teens, you didn’t see it. If you don’t see that there are professional women’s teams out there, you don’t think that you could ever do it.
“It wasn’t until I actually got that contract offer in front of me, I was like, ‘This is something that I can do for a living. That’s cool’.”
Getting started in football
With an absence of female players in the mainstream to look up to, the midfielder’s passion for the sport came from her brother Nick, whom she supported from the sidelines as a small child. “I was in year six when I started playing football,” Josie – who also plays for Crystal Palace – says. “I just loved playing the game and everything that came with it – the fun and the friends.”
After starting her career at Watford F.C., Josie made her first appearance during the 2010/11 FA Women’s National League season. In 2015, she moved to Tottenham Hotspur, which saw her star as part of the team that promoted the club to the pro Women’s Super League in 2019 – a personal career highlight of Josie’s.
“That was a milestone moment in my career,” she says. “The WSL has always been seen to be one of the best leagues in the world, so to help a team that you’ve been with for so long get promoted to the top, that was a standout moment,” she says. “It was also a pivotal point in my life because when we got promoted, I got given my first professional contract. It was a really cool moment.”
Josie’s Euros prep
Now, Josie’s focus has turned to Euros prep. Qualifying through her Welsh roots (her grandad was born in Pontypool), Josie had her first senior cap in 2010 at just 16 years old. In starting young, Josie has learned to enjoy every moment.
“There are so many ups and downs in football. I’ve learned that if it’s going well, to really enjoy those, but then if it’s not going so well, [consider] what learnings you can take from that instead of just being down.”
In the lead up to the Euros, Josie’s training schedule has been relentless. “I’ll get up, go to the gym and it’ll be a strength-based session and a running session in the morning, and then it’ll be another gym session in the afternoon,” she explains. “If it’s not two gym sessions a day, it will be a pitch session in the morning that’s typically an hour and a half long, and then you’ll do a gym session in the afternoon, so pretty intense.”
Avoiding burnout
With such a strict training schedule, Josie is cautious of overloading herself after she experienced a period of burnout during her 2021/2022 season with Tottenham Hotspur.
“I was exhausted all the time and not able to perform so it was a rough time,” she says. “I have high expectations of myself, but it’s also demands that other people put on you. You want to be a good friend, you want to be a good family member, you want to be a good partner, so it’s hard to be a footballer and juggle all the other elements of your life as well.”
Alongside therapy, breathwork sessions and yoga classes are a part of her daily life that keep her feeling calm. Her strong friendships within the squad also keep Josie grounded as the Euros draw near.
“We’ve worked so hard but the nerves were about actually getting there,” she says. “I get goosebumps every single time [I wear the Welsh shirt]. I wasn’t born there but I just feel so at home. I wish everyone could experience that feeling.”
Josie looks forward to her wedding day
Alongside her family, Josie’s fiancé, Marcus Gan, is her biggest supporter. “He’ll make sure that if I’ve had a busy week, to do the laundry and make sure I’ve got food in. It’s the little things, and he’s very aware of how tough it can be to be an elite athlete,” she says. “Marcus is amazing.”
Beyond her Euros summer, Josie looks forward to turning her attention to planning their wedding after Marcus proposed in 2021. “It’s something we’re both quite chilled out about but are very excited for when we do finally get around to organising,” she says. “The chat is there – it will be an exciting time when we finally do it.”
Watch Josie Green play in the Wales national football club in the Euros starting on 2 July on BBC and ITV Sport