Hope Powell was a skinny little black girl from South London who only ever wanted to play football. Brought up in a violent home, she was actively discouraged from playing. The original Bend It Like Beckham girl, this is the amazing story of how a kid from a Greenwich housing project became one of the most influential women in world football. A revered international footballer and then, for fifteen years, manager of England, Hope Powell will forever be the face of English women's football. She took the national game from amateurism to top-flight performance -- and dedicated herself to opening up the sport to hundreds of thousands of girls and young women at the grassroots level. A black, gay woman who's been a relentless pioneer for equal rights -- the story of her battles against authority are an object lesson in how determination and bravery can make a lasting change.

Includes index.

Introduction -- London in the seventies -- Three lions -- Paying to play -- From the Old Kent Road to Sweden -- Croydon -- Sweet FA -- The desk in the corner -- On to 2001 -- Pro licence -- Ups and downs -- 2005 -- China, 2007 -- Big steps forward -- No hope -- Top ten -- London 2012 -- 2013 -- FIFA -- 2015 and the World Cup -- Career statistics as England manager.