Continuing the legacy? No, writing their own stories. Meet the daughters of former footballers

The football world was recently caught by the news that the name Modrić is returning to Real Madrid. This time, however, it is not Croatian legend Luka Modrić, but his 13-year-old daughter Ema, who has joined the club’s academy.

Football has no shortage of fathers and sons who have followed the same path. But as the women’s game continues to grow, another kind of footballing lineage is becoming increasingly visible: fathers and daughters.

Some of those daughters are already playing senior football, beginning to write stories of their own regardless of the famous surname on the back of their shirts. So who are some of football’s father-daughter pairings?

Petr Čech and his daughter Adéla Čechová

The former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper, who still holds the Premier League record for the most clean sheets, remains one of the most recognisable names for both Chelsea supporters and fans of the Czech national team, who associate him with some of the most successful years in their respective histories.

But Petr Čech has also become a prominent ally of the women’s game. In 2025, for example, he visited a Barcelona women’s training session, where England goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck was playing at the time. Like Čech, Roebuck had suffered an injury that threatened her career. Čech offered his support and shared his own experience with her.

In our interview he had always taken an interest in women’s football, but having his own daughter in the game gave him another perspective.

“When you have your own daughter playing football, then you suddenly realise how the environment is. So I got to see it from a completely different angle,” Čech told QueenBallers. His daughter Adéla currently plays in Fulham’s academy.

Kim Källström and his daughter Zöe Källström

Kim Källström may never have become one of the defining names of global football, but in Sweden he was one of the most recognisable players of his generation, both for the national team and Stockholm club Djurgården.

Outside Sweden, his greatest club successes came in France with Lyon, where he twice won both the league and the domestic cup. In the blue and yellow of Sweden, he represented his country at three European Championships and one World Cup.

Now the name Källström is appearing on the back of a Djurgården jersey once again. The same club where Kim eventually ended his professional career. This time, it belongs to his daughter Zöe.

At just 15, she has already made her debut for the Stockholm club and has represented Sweden at youth level. Her first appearance in national colours was a memorable one, too: she marked it with a goal.

Ian Wright and his granddaughter Raphaella Wright-Phillips

Ian Wright is more than an Arsenal legend. In England, he has become one of the most visible ambassadors for women’s football, regularly covering both the Women’s Champions League and the WSL on television.

Given his history with Arsenal, his connection to Arsenal Women is naturally particularly strong, and he regularly shows his support for the team. One moment that went viral came during the 2025 Champions League final, when cameras captured an emotional Wright celebrating Stina Blackstenius’ winning goal.

Perhaps that makes it even more surprising that his granddaughter, Raphaella Wright-Phillips, plays in the academy of Arsenal’s big rivals Chelsea.

Raphaella is still very young, of course, and there is nothing to say that she could not one day find her way to the club closest to her grandfather’s heart once she reaches senior level. After all, Chelsea’s academy has previously been part of the journeys of players such as Declan Rice and Alessia Russo.

Even Blakstad and his daughter Julie Blakstad

In this case, it might already be fair to say that the daughter has surpassed her father’s achievements. Even Blakstad is a former Norwegian defender whose name may not be particularly familiar outside his home country. He represented several clubs during his career, but spent all of it within the Norwegian league system.

His daughter Julie’s career has already taken her considerably further afield.

She has now found her place at Tottenham Hotspur, where she has become a regular starter as Spurs enjoy a strong start to the new WSL season. Her performances have also earned her regular call-ups to the Norwegian national team.

In doing so, Julie is continuing another branch of the family’s footballing history. Her aunt, Britt-Torill Blakstad, also represented Norway at youth international level.