Gornal Athletic’s Libby Riese started playing football at the age of five, before moving to Birmingham City Women’s Academy, then an injury to her ankle changed everything for her, but she is now captain of GA and led them to promotion last season.
Libby started playing mini-soccer at the age of five, she also has a twin brother and they played together for the same team which was Sedgley White Lions. She was the only girl in the squad in the junior league and went on to achieve 3 back to back promotions.
However, once she turned 14, the league rules changed, girls were no longer allowed to play in the boys’ teams. But her dad decided to set up the first Sedgley White Lions girl’s squad, they went on to win various league and cup titles.
Looking back at the beginning of her footballing journey Libby said: “Playing football with boys was all I knew from a young age, so if I’m honest I think it gave me a head start when I switched to playing with girls, I felt like I was tough player due to having to be strong when playing against boys. I didn’t take much notice of the change other than I did miss playing football with the lads, I liked hearing the opponent’s fans shouting remarks on the pitch “Get her she’s a girl” and “You shouldn’t be playing in a boys team” it made me play harder and better because I wanted to prove them wrong!”
Libby went on to prove all those opponents’ fans wrong as when she turned 16 years of age, she was scouted and subsequently joined Birmingham City Ladies FC Academy. She was at Blues for 2 seasons while she studied at Solihull College. While with Birmingham she was coached by former Lionesses Jade Moore and Josanne Potter.
Reflecting on her time at Blues Riese said: “I was so proud of myself when I made it to Birmingham City Academy, however, it was a big change, I was training 4 times a week and playing twice so it was a big jump for me to get used to the programme, coming from playing once and week and training twice.
“I enjoyed my time at the academy, but I’m quite a shy person, and I found my self-confidence was not as high as the other players, so I felt like I was a little fish in a big sea. Players and coaches made me feel very welcome all the time. It was a great insight into the game to be coached by Jo Potter and Jade Moore, ex lionesses, I would take on board every little bit of information they taught us. It’s probably one of my greatest achievements to say that I was coached by them.”
Although she had a lot of success and had been playing for so many years, in 2017 whilst still being with the Blues her football career changed. A sprained ankle that just wouldn’t heal properly meant she would have to take a step back from playing.
The now 25-year-old took six years away from playing the game in total, but 2 years ago she began coaching at Gornal Athletic, she coached their U11 girl’s side for a little while but had to give it up due to her work schedule being too busy.
Riese added: “When I sprained my ankle it was hard for me to try and take a step back and try to not train or play. 1. Because I felt like I was going to lose my place, which was stressful, and 2. Because I find it hard to sit still and watch from the sidelines, I was having daily physio sessions with Jade to try to get the strength back in my ankle after my 6-week rest. However, it never went back to its full capacity, and I just ended up giving football up.
“I didn’t think I was going to get back into football. I didn’t lose the love for it, but It just wasn’t something I felt I needed to get back into for a while. I was studying at Birmingham City University, which I didn’t ever end up seeing out due to me not liking the course, so I had to get a job, and ended up working weekends in a care home, so that was another reason why I didn’t get back into playing because I couldn’t fully commit. I’ve been in my job now for 7 years, and made my way up to head chef! My second chef loves that I play football so will cover a lot of my Sunday shifts! Which is so kind.
“I wanted to get into coaching because I always thought I’d be good at it, I know a lot about the game from years of playing, and I feel like I had more insight from a professional background from me being at Blues. It turns out that I was good at it, I loved the bunch of girls that I coached.”
It was only last season (2023/24) that Libby decided to start playing football again properly, Gornal Athletic, the place where she did her coaching was on about starting up the first-ever ladies’ team for that season, the club knew Riese’s experience and ability so they asked her to join.
She joined almost instantly and was also given the captain’s armband. She led the squad to a second-place finish in the league meaning promotion for the 24/25 (which isn’t too far away from starting). She also led her side out in a cup final but they narrowly missed out on the trophy.
On joining Gornal Riese said: “I did start to miss playing football, especially the fitness element as I love it so much as well as the competitive side of things of course! and also just the camaraderie of teammates.
“I feel very honoured and proud to be the captain of Gornal Ladies. I feel like they have a good trust in my capabilities to be the captain. I’m a very vocal leader on the pitch as I think communication is key to a great team and the girls are all as dedicated as me which makes my job as captain a whole lot easier.”
Some fun facts about Libby Riese that no one else knows until now…
- She’s the better footballer out of her and her twin
“I was playing with my brother for so long when we were younger, he was always the faster more athletic player, but I was always the stronger player and better passer of the ball. No, Jack was a great player, he used to also play for Gornal Athletic in the Floodlight league, I used to come from Solihull on the train and bus after my day of training or playing at Blues and watch his team play under the lights at Gornal or away. I loved to watch him, his engine wasn’t matched and his passing was brilliant too.”
- She can rap every word to pretty much every Eminem song
“The first time I listened to an Eminem song was in a music class in secondary school and it was Stan, and I just loved the storytelling element, we were given a sheet of lyrics to learn and I just learnt every single word. So I started listening to more and more songs of his and I love them, I like finding his double entendres when listening and having a little giggle to myself.
- She is tremendously scared of spiders
“I don’t know when my fear of spiders came about, I just hate creepy crawlies. If there’s one in my bedroom, even if it’s a small one, I have to get my brother to get it out otherwise I won’t sleep a wink at night.
Despite the injury set back with her ankle, Libby’s football career has lasted just shy of 20 years, and if it wasn’t for that ankle injury we could’ve maybe seen her play representing The Lionesses one day… Either way what a player and what a career she’s had on and off the pitch.
Sporty AF 