They are whip-smart, empowered and independent – as well as glamorous, naturally. Step forward, the next generation WAGs.
It’s been 20 years since Coleen Rooney, Victoria Beckham, Alex Curran and Cheryl Tweedy were branded ‘hooligans with visas’ by a Spanish newspaper after their antics during the 2006 World Cup in Germany generated more headlines than the games.
Perhaps reflecting different times, the new crop of wives and girlfriends are, overall, a more retiring bunch. Among those heading to the US in the coming days are a lawyer, engineer, marketing executive, intensive care nurse and interior designer.
Brainy many of them may be, but like Coleen and co they’re not above an occasional raucous night out. Or a designer shopping splurge for that matter.
Their impact at the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada, though, which kicks off on June 11, is expected to be more low-key than that of their predecessors.
That said, in a departure from the norm, they will join the players well before their first match. Coach Thomas Tuchel says: ‘We will go very early to the US, earlier than maybe other teams. We will go there to prepare for the heat and the humidity.
‘We will have an early camp that allows us a good mix between free time, family-friends time, and football.’
Some of the partners will already be familiar to football fans. Harry Kane’s wife Katie, a sports science graduate, for instance, is the undisputed Queen Bee.
Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham’s girlfriend Ashlyn Castro (pictured), 27, a globe-trotting model and influencer who has 700,000 followers on Instagram
PR and marketing executive Tolami Benson (pictured) began dating Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka in 2020 and graduated from Birmingham City University two years later
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan Davison, who usually leads the fashion show from the stands, might have a few rivals, however – among them Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham’s girlfriend Ashlyn Castro, 27, a globe-trotting model and influencer who has 700,000 followers on Instagram.
Doubtless she will be posting prodigiously on social media during the summer. Others will, too.
How to avoid looking overheated in photos is expected to be a major preoccupation as the tournament is lining up to be the hottest on record. In that, Ashlyn has an advantage over her fellows WAGs in that she is Californian, based in sunny Los Angeles and well used to the heat.
She has called Jude ‘the most thoughtful, kind-hearted, hardworking, incredible human I’ve ever met’.
Among the graduates is lawyer Olivia Parvia, dating Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson. She works for Gunnercooke, a leading global law firm.
Despite being the brains of the bunch, she loves a party as much as the WAGs of old and also has a penchant for designer clothes. She was seen sporting a £4,000 Chanel crossbody bag during the last game of the season.
Another law graduate, Mia McClenaghan, the long-term girlfriend of Chelsea captain Reece James, is an AI expert engineer with software development firm Thomson Reuters.
Naima Corbin, wife of Arsenal star Eberechi Eze, graduated from King’s College London with a degree in nursing and now works in intensive care.
Mia McClenaghan (pictured), the long-term girlfriend of Chelsea captain Reece James, is an AI expert engineer with software development firm Thomson Reuters
Interior designer Ellie Watkins (pictured) met her future husband, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, on a beach in Marbella while on a post-university holiday in 2018, and they have two children: daughter Amara May, four, and son Marley, three
She wore a floor-length Vivienne Westwood gown for their lavish wedding, which was featured in Vogue. She met her husband at school in Greenwich, south-east London.
Interior designer Ellie Watkins met her future husband, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, on a beach in Marbella while on a post-university holiday in 2018, and they have two children: daughter Amara May, four, and son Marley, three. After their wedding in London last year, they hosted a three-day celebration with friends and family in the south of France.
Ellie often shares photos of her lavish lifestyle to her 82,000 followers. Last week, she posted celebratory pictures of Ollie after Aston Villa won the Europa Cup.
Described as ‘lovely and hard-working’, PR and marketing executive Tolami Benson began dating Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka in 2020 and graduated from Birmingham City University two years later.
Meanwhile, Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo’s student girlfriend, Layla Roye, is studying at Salford University. She keeps a low profile on social media with all her accounts set to private, though she and Kobbie were seen wearing matching fur coats to his 21st birthday bash.
Also reserved on social media is Roz Burn, who has two children with 6 ft 7 in Newcastle defender Dan Burn. The couple met as teenagers in Northumberland.
Marcus Rashford’s girlfriend Lucia Loi got a first-class degree in advertising and brand management and went on to work in PR. Now an influencer, she has 125,000 followers on Instagram and followed Rashford to Barcelona where he’s on loan from Manchester United.
No stranger to the high life. Lucia’s social media snaps show she loves shopping, holidays and a night out – all solid WAG attributes. Though Lucia could be usurped as the Catalans capital’s resident English WAG, following the club’s signing of Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon last week.
Cheryl Tweedy and Victoria Beckham (pictured), alongside Alex Curran and Coleen Rooney, were branded ‘hooligans with visas’ by a Spanish newspaper after their antics during the 2006 World Cup in Germany generated more headlines than the games
Annie Keating is the childhood girlfriend of Gordon, having met while they grew up in Liverpool, and she is likely to take up her post in Barcelona at Lucia’s expense because their two beaus play in the same position so Rashford will likely move on.
Like many WAGs before her, beautician Annie enjoys the high life. For her baby shower she hired a five-star hotel decorated with cream roses.
And having got engaged to Gordon earlier this year, their wedding is expected to be no less extravagant.
After missing out on the last World Cup, housewife Rebecca Burnett will be in the stands cheering her husband, Brentford midfielder Jordan Henderson, with whom she has two children.
Friends describe Rebecca as ‘an angel’ for her work supporting Jordan with his project #PlayersTogether, which raised millions for the NHS during Covid – a feat for which he was handed an MBE in 2022.
How this ensemble of beauty, brains and footballing brawn will mix in the American heat, we will soon find out.
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