Football and music are powerful tools. There’s a reason why they are so loved and touch so many lives around the world. In Billericay, about 30 miles from central London, footballer and spoken-word rapper Jess King uses both arts to cope with painful experiences and fight for change in women’s football.
Born in Liverpool, King wrote spoken word, music and poetry from an early age. But when he suffered a concussion last year and had to stop playing, he was able to devote more time to the game and share his talent with the world. Earlier this month, she released a new single called Look Into My Eyes, in which she shares some of her experiences with racism and microaggressions throughout her life. “I think music is a way of bringing that out,” he tells Moving the Goalposts.
“Some of that comes from where I grew up and my experiences as a kid, but a lot of times you just go with it and then when you think about it, you look back and see that it was pretty serious. You carry these things with you and I think I want to help me heal.
The 31-year-old played for Liverpool in his youth before receiving a scholarship to play football and go to Trinity Western University in Canada. Returning to Europe following his studies, King played for Everton, Swiss side FC Basel, USV Jena in Germany and Kolbotn IL in Norway, before returning to England for spells with Lewes and Charlton. Since August 2022, the striker has been at Billericay Town.
In Look Into My Eyes, King reveals how dealing with racism affected his mental health. She admits it was scary to announce some of her most painful experiences to the world, but it was part of her way of coping. “I guess I had to go through my own process of improving my mental health, and writing this song was part of that.”
King released three new songs in 2023 and devoted more time to his music career, but his football experiences also played a role. In 2020, while playing for Lewes, he released Raise Us Up, a call to action for equal pay in football, with some of the profits donated to the club.
“When you’re emotionally invested, you either get playing time or you don’t get playing time and then a microaggression happens, even if it’s consistent, you just keep going because what else are you going to do? Who will listen to you? Who cares?” When asked what advice he would give to his younger self, King doesn’t miss a beat: “Don’t care what anyone thinks. You’re good enough. You’re more than capable, you’re more than good. Go after what you want and don’t look back.”
There has been a debate about the lack of diversity in English women’s football since Euros 2022. King believes the problem won’t be solved immediately. “All of a sudden you won’t have a hundred new black rams,” she says. “The approach must be realistic. The steps we take now will affect the future,” she said.
Last month she organized and headlined the Black To The Future event hosted by Billericay Town for the Hackney Marshes Girls League to celebrate black culture in women’s football. It involved players, managers and other stakeholders in women’s football. He didn’t know what to expect at first but the feedback was positive. “You don’t need to be the center of attention to make a difference. You can help make football a better community by simply being yourself and putting your best self forward. And I think having those tough conversations is so powerful.
“I think they need to tick a box regarding racism in women’s football. It is enough as long as it is written about or looked at. But this is like putting a plaster cast on a large wound. In fact, it needs a systematic change.
“When you don’t have diverse perspectives and experiences, you can be very narrow-minded,” he adds. “We want to use Black to the Future to inspire people to be themselves without holding back, without any limitations or fear. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve made a mistake, ‘do they think I’m here because I’ve checked a box?’ If I wasn’t a person of colour, I’d be here “Would I come? Nobody told me that, that’s my concern. I don’t want this for future children. Racism won’t go away, but we can help the burden not be so heavy for them.”
King recalls American Mia Hamm, as well as Kelly Smith and Alex Scott, as her childhood heroes. “I used to wear his shirt when we were out and playing football in the streets,” he recalls. “When I moved to Canada football changed my life, it made me resilient and I met great people and played in some of the best leagues in the world. “Not many people can say they’ve achieved their childhood dream, but I did.”
She hopes Black to the Future will be an opportunity to help other girls and women reach for the stars. “Hopefully we’ll continue to use this platform, this group of people, to have these conversations, to give ideas, to inspire, to make change. That’s all we can do.”
Click here to listen to Jess King’s other songs.
talking points
WSL viewing records: Chelsea’s 5-1 win over Liverpool became the most watched Women’s Super League match on television to date. A packed audience of 1.1 million tuned in to the BBC to watch Lauren James’ hat-trick in the victory that sent Emma Hayes’ team six points clear top of the standings, with an average audience of 765,000. Sky Sports also had the highest ever WSL viewership for the Manchester derby with 589,000 viewers, averaging 485,000 viewers.
League MX: Tigres UANL and América became finalists of Liga MX Femenil for the third time. In the Apertura tournament, Amazonas advanced to the final by beating Rayadas 1-0 in the semi-finals on Monday evening; America got their ticket to the final a day after defeating Chivas 2-1. The two finals of the Apertura will be played on Friday and Monday, with the second one hosted by Tigres at the Estadio Universitario.
quote of the week
We determined 25 players. I think this caught your attention because there are only 23 on the list. We will see from Monday [Putellas and Paredes] We evaluate it together with our team. We will work with them as best we can and then make the decisions we need to make. But without forcing anything, using common sense, always paying attention to the safety of the players, to help the players and the national team” – Spain coach Montse Tomé calling up Irene Paredes and Alexia Putellas for the last matches of the year Against Italy and Sweden, despite the players being injured.
Recommended viewing
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Here’s a look at the much-changed USA roster with Alex Morgan left out.
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