SUE LOPEZ – A PIONEER OF WOMAN’S FOOTBALL

When the history of women’s football in the 20^th century is written, one name, Sue Lopez (M.B.E.) will be hugely prominent. Although women’s soccer was not officially recognised by the FA until 1972, when Sue was already in her late 20s, she still managed to have an outstanding career which not only included winning eight FA Cup finals between 1971 and 1983 with Saints – they reached 11 finals in a row – but also 22 international caps for England. She also played one season in Serie A with Roma in 1971 (see photo above), quite an achievement as the standard of ladies’ football on the continent was then far more advanced than it was in the UK.

Sue grew up “over the water” in Marchwood and her mother, an avid Manchester United fan, encouraged Sue to join the lads’ kickabouts at the local “rec,” while her grandfather, a farmer, would use his muddy old landrover to drive the teenage Sue and others to The Dell and she fondly remembers watching the early days of Terry Paine’s and John Sydenham’s career. Leaving school she initially became a secretary at Southampton University, but being behind a desk was not the sports-mad Sue’s idea of fun so she trained to be a teacher, specialising in PE and history at Applemore School. There she was the star turn in the Teachers v Pupils fixture and one of her colleagues remembers her having a “ferocious tackle that all the boys avoided”. She loved playing upfront and had taught herself to kick with both feet so was able to bang the goals in from all angles.

After a playing career which spanned 20 years, Sue retired in 1986 and turned to coaching and became only the second woman ever to pass the FA advanced licence coaching qualification. She also worked as the Hants FA Coaching and Development officer in the late 1990s. She was appointed Director of Football at Southampton FC in 2001 but, in 2005 with Saints relegated, the Women’s section was disbanded for financial reasons and a lot of hard work and investment disappeared overnight – a fact Sue regretted. She remains a committed fan of the club however, and when in better health regularly travelled from her Winchester home to watch the Saints. She was full of praise for the likes of ex-managers Ted Bates and particularly Lawrie McMenemy, who she recalled being more than helpful as female football tried to establish itself in a very male orientated world. Speaking to me in July 2018 just after Southampton announced the appointment of Marieanne Spacey-Cale as the Head of Girls and Women’s football, Sue remembered Marieanne well from her early playing days saying she particularly recalls her “having a kick like a mule”! When pressed as to whether she would offer Marianne any advice Sue replied “only to tell her to follow her own instincts” – something Sue did with with gusto.

In 1997, Sue – who was awarded the MBE in 2000 – published “Women on the Ball” a handbook tracing the development and the history of game in England.