The Girl Who Wasn’t Meant to Play: Hannah Hampton’s Unbelievable Rise to England’s Number One
When Chloe Kelly smashed home the penalty that sealed England’s defence of their European crown, she was quick to redirect the fans’ adoration toward Hannah Hampton.
For it was Hampton’s heroics that set the stage for Kelly to provide the winning moment, just as she did at Wembley in 2022.
In a shootout that sent the nation’s heart into overdrive, England’s stopper stood tall — denying both Mariona Caldentey and eventual Player of the Tournament Aitana Bonmatí.
It was Hampton’s first major competition as Sarina Wiegman’s first choice, and a poetic ending to what’s been a lifelong battle with setbacks.
A Shock Diagnosis
At a young age, Hannah Hampton was diagnosed with strabismus — a disorder in which the eyes don’t align with each other while looking at an object.
It’s especially common in children and can take a major toll on depth perception. By the age of three, she had already undergone multiple operations in an attempt to correct the issue.
None, however, proved successful. Routine tasks like pouring a glass of water became a difficulty, and Hampton was advised by doctors to steer clear of playing sports altogether.
Undeterred by their advice, she would often find herself with broken fingers and a bloody nose through misjudging the flight of the ball.
“I think I’ve always gone through life trying to prove people wrong,” she said. “I was told from a young age that I couldn’t play football, that it wouldn’t be a profession I could pursue – the doctors told my parents that.
“Finding that out made me more determined to reach the highest level possible. Playing sport was always my passion and my dream.”
A move to Spain aged five provided the launchpad for that dream. Hampton’s parents were keen for her to learn a new language and absorb a different culture, but it also opened footballing doors.
She was quickly snapped up by Villarreal, spending five years on the coast learning her trade as a striker. Though as it later transpired, Hampton was more prolific at stopping goals than scoring them.
On her return to England, she joined Stoke City’s Centre of Excellence — completing her transition to a goalkeeper in the process.
A move to Birmingham followed, where she penned her first professional contract in 2018. Despite impressing throughout her youth career, Hannah Hampton’s vision issues never fully disappeared.
That struggle — combined with a relatively late education between the sticks — took an emotional toll.
Thrown into the WSL spotlight at 16, she found a mentor in former England forward Ellen White.
“Her emotions would take hold of her a lot, which they would do for any 16-year-old, and it was about dealing with the ups and downs,” White told the BBC.
“You won’t save a goal every time. Managing her emotions needed time, experience and understanding. I felt at that time she would be a very good goalkeeper, but she needed some help.”
Hannah Hampton’s Rise and Brief Fall
With Hannah Hampton’s stock quickly maturing, she made the move to West Midlands rivals Aston Villa in 2021 — signing a two-year deal on a free transfer.
Then manager Carla Ward quickly described her as “one of the most gifted individuals” she’d ever worked with.
A string of impressive showings prompted an England call-up in 2022. She was named in the winning Euros squad behind Mary Earps as England’s second-choice keeper.
However, her international career almost veered off track a year later when reports emerged she’d been dropped from the squad for ‘bad behaviour and attitude’ at team camps.
The headlines left scar tissue and, after all the challenges Hampton had faced in her youth, almost proved the straw that broke the camel’s back.
She admitted there were times when she almost turned her back on the game altogether. Instead, just as she had always done, she used it as more motivation to prove the doubters wrong.
“You can’t let all the media scrutiny win,” Hampton, who’s since joined Chelsea, said recently. “I think if you do that it just adds fuel to the fire and I wasn’t willing to accept that.
“I wanted to show who I am as a person and show that wasn’t always true.
“So I just thought: ‘Just dig in.’
“I did that and I’m sat here right now. I think I can say that I’ve proved people wrong.”
A Crowning Summer for Hannah Hampton
Sarina Wiegman made several big calls ahead of this year’s Euros, though few grabbed headlines quite like Earps’ omission from the squad.
The England boss’s management was called into question after Earps, a key player in the Lionesses’ 2022 glory, was told she’d been displaced by Hannah Hampton.
However, Wiegman’s decision was vindicated well before Hampton’s Player of the Match performance against Spain.
A stunning, defence-splitting assist against the Netherlands in the group stage and two penalty saves against Sweden were proof enough Hampton was more than ready to step up as England’s number one.
She’s been a stalwart between the sticks throughout the tournament, commanding her area and showing fine technical ability with the ball at her feet.
Hannah Hampton’s path to Euros glory reads like the opening chapters of a novel — gripping, unlikely, and unforgettable — and at just 24, her story is only getting started.
Speaking to BBC Sport after last night’s final, Hampton said: “All I can really say is thank you to Sarina (Wiegman) for all the belief and faith that she’s had in me.
“She knew what I was capable of and she really put that in me to really go and showcase what I can do.”
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