Mathilde Ressaire comes from Bondy, just like Kylian Mbappé. She has been playing soccer since she was little but took a long time to find a club, she tells us. 

Mathilde is wearing a Honeyball Jam jersey

When did you start playing football?

I started playing football when I was about 6/7 years old I think. My father is a real football fan, he played in a club for a long time, so he passed on this passion to me whether it was playing or watching football. I used to play with my brothers and my father very often and I always took a ball with me whenever we went on holiday or for a walk. You only have to look at the condition of my first football ball to see how much I used it.

Which clubs do you play in?

I started playing in a football club late because there were no women's teams near my home, so every year I went with my father to ask the clubs around if they had a women's team. I waited until the second grade to play at the Stade de l'Est in Pavillons Sous Bois, then I stopped with my studies and as I missed it I started again 2 years ago. Now, I play futsal with the Vikings in Paris and in an 11-a-side football team in the 77 region, the Football Feminin Academy 77, which is playing this season in the Regional 2.

How do you feel when you play?

A certain excitement, it's difficult to explain but I love playing football so much. The desire to give everything on the field for your team and to win. Sometimes, there is also a bit of stress before some of the more important matches, but it's a positive stress that allows you to surpass yourself.

Your best memory of a game? Or a competition?

TA victory last season in the championship which had a particular taste because there was a certain rivalry between our club and the opposing team. Before the match, the opposing players were showing us a bit of disrespect and we responded in the best way possible: on the field. It was a real team victory that brought us together. Everyone gave everything and went above and beyond on the field for the team.

Your best memory off the field? 

My best off-field memory is still the 2018 World Cup victory, for me who hadn’t experienced the 1998 victory, it was truly magical, a daydream. I will always remember this moment that I lived with my father. We were like madmen and we went together to the Champs Elysées after the match. To see all the happy people, to commune together, to forget all the problems, it shows the power that sport and in particular football has on people.

Do you have a player you love the most ?

I appreciate the game of many players, but I would say Amandine Henry, especially as I play in the same position, so she remains an example for me. Moreover, off the field she conveys messages and doesn't hesitate to say what she thinks.

The music you are listening to motivate you (if it is the case)?

In general, I like to listen to Riles' music, especially "Thank God". After listening to that I'm at my peak!

What is your dream ?

I would like to combine my passion and my job and thus participate in the development of women's football in France and in the world because for me it does not yet have the place it deserves. My dream is to be present at the first victory of the French women's team in the World Cup and to see as much enthusiasm as when the men's team won.

Anything else you want to share ?

That every little girl who wants to play football shouldn’t give up her passion and her dream, because even if mentalities have evolved, for some people it is still reserved for boys, so we must show these people that they are wrong.