The broadcaster and her father discuss their lives in the game and their push to get more girls and women playing football

“I can’t remember the first time I fell in love with football because it’s always been there. It’s a bit like asking when was the first time you fell in love with your mum and dad – you just always have.”

Many would agree with Kelly Cates’s sentiment but few have had a life as close to the sport as she has.

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A pioneer for women in football, Cates has forged a hugely respected 20-year career in broadcasting. So much a part of the football media furniture, it is almost possible to forget she is the daughter of the Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, but not quite.

Growing up with a dad who never believed his daughters should have less of a place in the game because of their gender has been hugely positive for her. Well, apart from once. “Only when Kelly knocked herself out playing football in Spain,” Dalglish says. “She still talks about it to this day but I think time has run away with her imagination.”

“I think obviously being surrounded by football helped build up a knowledge of the game and an insight that you might not get watching from afar,” Cates says. “My dad was always hugely supportive, as was my brother. We used to play three-and-in in the back garden and those are the memories that stick as much as the more famous games that we were fortunate to attend.”

“Kelly has always been single-minded and determined,” Dalglish says. “But she also knows her football and that, above all, is the biggest factor in her success – her professional capabilities married with her knowledge of the subject matter. She grew up with it right enough and if you can keep Graeme Souness in line then you must be doing something right.”

There was also never a time when Cates resented football for the way it dominated their lives: “It was always there but it never consumed us. In fact, I think it was easier then because it wasn’t wall-to-wall on television,” she says. “It would certainly be a lot harder to get away from football now.

“On the day before a match we would go out and have an early dinner so we could spend time with my dad then he would go to bed early to rest for the game. That was just the routine. Obviously it would be inevitable that sometimes he would bring his work home and we could sense his disappointment but it was never about results – it was always about the performance with my dad.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kenny Dalglish, pictured last year, says: ‘I know how football can unite.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian

For Dalglish, who watched his four children absorb life lessons from football, the benefits are clear. “I’m proud of all of my kids and while not all of them have followed a career in football I think growing up in a football family taught them a lot about life, even subconsciously,” the three-times European Cup winner says. “As a family we have been through highs and extreme lows in football but I think the children all took something from the game, whether it was dedication and commitment, being ambitious and pursuing your dreams, or just the work ethic that I grew up with and which was a prerequisite for success in football and in life.”

Football puts huge pressures on managers and their families. Dalglish has experienced the ups and downs symptomatic of management but has also had to deal with more, emotionally, than many. However, there was never a point when he thought he did not want his kids around it: “When you are a manager you can find yourself under pressure, or certainly under pressure in the media, and as much as you try not to take your work home it’s inevitable that your family sense when you are not yourself.

I have two daughters, seven and 10, and they are encouraged to be who they want to be Kelly Cates

“I’ve said this before but I’ve seen an entire community come together as one family, so I know how football can unite.”

Cates and Dalglish have teamed up in support of the Uefa #WePlayStrong campaign ‘It All Starts Here’, which calls on football fan parents, and dads in particular, to encourage their daughters to play the sport. Rio Ferdinand, Alan Shearer, Egil Østenstad, Franco Baresi and many more have added their voices.

For Cates, the reason for her involvement is simple: “I have two daughters, seven and 10, and they are encouraged to be who they want to be. They are obviously aware that football is a huge part of my life and career and the fact they can now watch the best women’s footballers on TV, from the Women’s Super League to the Women’s Champions League, is terrific.

“I think We Play Strong is a great way of raising awareness of women’s football and in a way continuing to normalise it for young girls to take part.”

The change in opportunities is noticeable to Dalglish: “We were never pushy parents and would never wish to put pressure on any of the kids to do anything that they didn’t feel passionately about.

“The opportunity to play football was never the same during their childhood as it is now, and that’s a testament to the great work that the likes of Uefa are doing … Women’s football has grown rapidly in recent years and if even one girl takes up an interest in football because they see Kelly presenting on television, then that is good enough for me and makes all of us proud.”

“I have also been pleased to see so many role models coming through,” Cates adds. “When I first started, the press box was still a largely male preserve but that’s changing now and with the likes of Alex Scott forging a successful broadcasting career after her playing career, it’s great to see women’s football achievement being recognised.”

For Cates the benefits for women of being involved in football are clear: “I have met lifelong friends through football and that team ethos extends beyond the white lines … There are benefits to your mental health and your general wellbeing. It is a sport for life, whether you are a boy or a girl, a man or a woman.”

Talking points

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arsenal and Birmingham, here in WSL action in November, have been drawn to face one another in the Continental League Cup. Photograph: TGSPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock

• The WSL leaders, Arsenal, have been drawn against third-placed Birmingham in the quarter finals of the Continental League Cup. Manchester United have a home time against West Ham, who play a division above them. Chelsea host Reading and Manchester City welcome Brighton. The ties are due to be played on 9/10 January. Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane will host the final on 23 February, live on BT Sport.

• Following the dismissal of John Donoghue, Lewes have announced Fran Alonso as their manager. The 42-year-old Spaniard is a former assistant coach of Ronald Koeman at Everton and Southampton, where he also worked under Mauricio Pochettino. Lewes sit ninth in the Championship, 15 points off of Manchester United at the top.

• The Australian football federation has announced an international friendly tournament, the Cup of Nations, to aid World Cup preparations. Taking place at the end of February, it will see Argentina, South Korea and New Zealand join the hosts.