The 18-year-old was the UK’s first woman professional freestyler and last year became world champion. She talks about training five hours a day, the backing from her parents and sexism she has encountered

A girl in school uniform walks out of school gates with a football balanced on her forehead, the drumbeat intro to Peaches’ Boys Wanna Be Her boldly begins. A cheeky nutmeg of a passer by. An orange, a dolls head, anything round is bounced, flicked and tricked down the street.

You most likely saw the Channel 4 Euro 2017 advert, but not many will know the woman behind the ball was 18-year-old Liv Cooke, 2017 women’s freestyle world champion. The Lancashire teen’s journey from junior football teams in Leyland to the UK’s first woman professional freestyler has been one of successes following setbacks, thanks to her uncompromising drive.

Having grown up playing football with her two older brothers she showed early interest in the technical side: “I was always out playing street football. I guess that’s what built up my control. When I was a footballer I was always into the skill side, doing tricks and things.”

Dick, Kerr Ladies decorate Deepdale with the resplendent tribute they deserve | Suzanne Wrack Read more

She joined Preston North End and worked her way up to Blackburn’s Centre of Excellence before a recurring back injury stalled her budding growth on the pitch. But it was while injured that she came across freestyle: “While I was out I didn’t want to lose control of the ball, I wanted to make sure that when I came back I was still at the same level.”

Inspired by videos of freestylers online, and having seen a live performance, Cooke was determined to join their world of tricks. “I was sort of just sucked into it. I tried to do both [football and freestyle] because I genuinely thought that freestyle would help my football, and it did, it improved my control. But it got to the point where I had to choose. Football was my first passion, but I chose freestyle and I don’t regret it.”

A recurring back injury is not ideally suited to the flexibility and movement of a good freestyler and sure enough, having trained for two years for her first world championships, it returned and ruled her out. Yet this turned out to be the making of her freestyle career: “It sort of forced me to train tricks that I wouldn’t usually train. I couldn’t do tricks standing up so I was forced to learn tricks sat down. So I’m actually weirdly grateful for the injuries.”

People are often surprised to see what she can do, not least because she is a girl. Sexism, often unconscious or indirected, exists. “If I turn up to a show with a guy they will presume the guy is better. Even though I’m world champion. Then the guy feels a lot of pressure and I feel sorry for him,” she says. “I’ve done shows with male freestylers, that I am better than, but crowds don’t take that at face value. I’ve seen crowds shout: ‘The girl’s better than you, go home!’”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Liv Cooke shows off her skills in Channel 4’s official advert for Euro 2017

Cooke is the first woman in the UK to have turned her skills with a ball into a career. Shows, commercials and sponsorships have helped build it, based on a social media following which started while she was at school. The decision to drop out of college and go pro was a tough one. “My mum wanted me to stay but my dad understood the potential of the social media side and the commercial side. They both believed in me and I had already built the career on the side. You can always go back to education but opportunities like this don’t come around often.”

Cooke trains four to five hours-a-day, six days-a-week, when preparing for a competition. However she’s keen the stress the importance of coupling that with mental preparation. “It’s very much a mental game,” she says. “Because if you step on that stage and you’ve got a hint of nerves it can take over your body. If you get jelly feeling in you legs, then you’re gone.”

In 2016 she finally got her chance to compete for the world title but was again thwarted, this time when a foot injury in the later stages of the final saw her withdraw as world No2. Rather than being despondent, she was elated. “Breaking your foot in a world championship final, it sounds like your dream has been crushed. But my goal was to make the semi-final. Even when I broke my foot I was just so excited; I had just become second in the world.”

Once the adrenaline wore off, the broken foot was confirmed back in England and a lengthy spell without work lay ahead. “It crushed me. I had six weeks of nothing ahead of me, my whole routine was messed up,” says Cooke. “I focused and thought: ‘I’m going to come back and I’m going to win.’ And I did it. In those six months I just sat down and watched my own videos, I found my weaknesses. When I came back I trained smarter and I was hungrier. I came back and won,” she says with a laugh.

Cooke is 18, the youngest world champion and sought after in her field, but still has her whole life ahead of her. “It’s a strange thing when you reach the top because you think: ‘what now?’. When I came home after I won I was just lost for a few days. You start to realise you’ve got to keep pushing because people are chasing you, you’ve got a responsibility to keep pushing the sport, pushing your level.“

Cooke, who will be defending her title at the world championships in February and with plans to launch her own sport-related business this year, is an impressive advocate for women in sport and wants to help others be given the same lift she has. “ I want to show that you can be in sport and do it without loads of money,” she says. “For freestyle all you need is a ball. It has changed my life, sport in general has given me confidence.

“Before football you put me in a classroom where you had to do a presentation and I hated it, I absolutely hated it. I felt sick. Now I can get on a stage in front of thousands, it can be live-streamed to millions, and I just enjoy it, the more the better. I think sport really can change lives and really help people and that’s something I want to utilise.”

Talking points

• Neil Redfearn, the former Leeds and Rotherham manager, has been unveiled as the new manager of Doncaster Rovers Belles. The Belles are currently top of WSL 2 with four wins from six games and have successfully applied for a place in the new semi-professional second tier from next season.

• Liverpool have confirmed forward Tash Harding will be leaving the side after turning down a new contract. The 28-year-old has seven goals since joining from Manchester City in 2016.

• Holland international and Euro 2017 winner Sherida Spitse has left FC Twente to join Norwegian side Valerenga. The midfielder’s new side finished seventh in the Toppserien which was won by LSK Kvinner.