Caitlin Hayes

Caitlin’s trademark pink headband began as a practical way to keep loose hairs out of her face, but hundreds of young supporters started copying it. She now sees it as a symbol that she is playing for the next generation — although her mother still wishes she would change it to green.

Caitlin studied Nursing while playing college soccer at Mississippi College and later received a Sky WNT Fund bursary to pursue a second degree in Paramedical Science.

Before every training session, Caitlin writes “You’re going to be great today” in the Notes app on her phone. She keeps the message when she meets her standards and deletes it when she does not, while also recording the small “one per cent” improvements she makes.

Football may be her profession, but Caitlin calls herself a “rugby girl” and supports her hometown rugby league club, Warrington Wolves. She jokes that she only watches the occasional rugby union match when her father is not looking.

At nine years old, Caitlin was already wearing Celtic’s black-and-gold kit and dreaming of representing the club. Years later, she described walking onto Celtic Park in the green-and-white Hoops with her family watching as the fulfilment of her childhood’s biggest dream.

One of Caitlin’s most important childhood lessons came from her father Duane: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” She still returns to the phrase during the most difficult periods of her career.