'It's so similar' - from elite footballers to enlisted firefighters

· Yahoo Sports

"We both just stood there - it was surreal. We used to be in the dressing room together and now we were just wanting this deer to stand up."

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For former England defender Abbie McManus - and ex-Leicester City striker Jess Sigsworth - the shift from elite footballers to firefighters has come with plenty of unexpected moments.

None more so than, while working for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, helping to free a deer that had become trapped in railings.

One minute they were sharing Women's Super League dressing rooms at Manchester United and Leicester City; the next, they were side by side in helmets and breathing apparatus.

"It was one of those moments where we just looked at each other and thought, how has this become our life?" McManus said.

McManus (second from top right) and Sigsworth (top right) played together for two seasons at Manchester United [Getty Images]

Growing up in the north of England, their paths crossed when they were at Manchester United, and their subsequent friendship helped to influence their next move.

"There were a couple of clubs that wanted us both," McManus said. "We said we'd move together. Leaving for Leicester was massive because Manchester is home.

"Having Jess there was like a comfort blanket. We lived together for a couple of years."

Professional footballing careers do not always end on players' own terms, with both McManus (in 2023) and Sigsworth (in 2024) forced to retire because of serious injuries.

"I was medically retired," McManus explained. "I had a bad break in my leg. It was a bitter pill to swallow. I tried for 18 months to come back but the surgeon eventually said: 'You're done.'

"Football's your whole life. You've done it since you were 16 years old and then suddenly the big wide world comes at you."

Her injury also ruined another important occasion.

"I rang my mum from the stretcher and said: 'I've broken my leg.' I didn't understand why she sounded so stressed, but she'd organised a surprise 30th birthday for two days later. She was more livid about the party than my leg."

It was a similar story for Sigsworth who, after recovering from one knee injury in 2017, suffered another at Leicester.

"I remember the sound," she said. "I knew I'd done it. As I got carried off, I pulled my hat over my eyes and thought: 'I'm not coming back from this.' I just couldn't mentally go through it again."

Jess Sigsworth (left) featured for England's youth teams while Abbie McManus won 18 caps for the Lionesses [Getty Images]

From one badge to another

Retirement left both searching for a new purpose - and a conversation in Leicester's dressing room proved pivotal.

"We just looked at each other one day and said: 'We're going to join the fire service,'" McManus explained. "And now we're sat here, which is surreal."

For both, the similarities between football and firefighting helped them transition.

"The teamwork, the pressure, it's so similar," Sigsworth said. "We'd lose our minds sitting still in an office."

The pride of representing a badge in football has been replaced at the fire service.

"It makes me laugh because Jess would score and kiss the badge - I've never had a job when you're not representing a badge," McManus said. "We've changed a football badge to the fire service badge."

Having joined a few months earlier, she was also able to help Sigsworth navigate the recruitment process, something her friend valued.

"It's funny because she was always my captain," Sigsworth said. "Always helping people, always leading. She did the same for me getting into the fire service."

They both agreed that elite sport had prepared them for emergency response work.

"We enjoy pressure," Sigsworth said. "In football, you're playing in front of crowds, under scrutiny, constantly wanting to prove yourself. That mentality never leaves you."

Even the daily routines are familiar.

"You must pass so many fitness tests to get into the fire service," explained McManus. "We do loads of PT and the togetherness you'd have as a football team you have here.

"It's cringy to say, but when you're at an exhausted part of a workout, that's when teamwork comes in. It's the same on a job if you're in a really hot fire, you've got to pull each other through. Nobody gets left behind - it's the same at football pre-season.

"You arrive, get your kit sorted, train together, eat together.

"If we lost a football match, we'd analyse it afterwards. It's the same here after difficult jobs. It's like one big family."

Still, there are parts of a match day they miss.

"That moment before you walk out," Sigsworth said. "The music is blasting in the changing room, everyone is shouting. I think you miss that forever."

They did put their boots back on recently, representing the fire service in a seven-a-side emergency services tournament in Spain. They won, although Sigsworth's brief stint in goal did not go to plan.

"We won't mention Jess getting lobbed," McManus laughed.

"I'm a centre-forward!" Sigsworth replied. "They stuck me in net. One girl just booted it from kick-off and I was daydreaming."

'Girls can finally see a path into professional football'

Both have also witnessed the transformation of women's football at first hand.

"When I joined Manchester City I was paying £380 subs just to play," McManus said. "Now little girls walk around wearing Ella Toone shirts. That's the best thing ever because girls can finally see a path."

"When we were younger, we didn't really have professional women footballers to look up to. Now little girls can genuinely aspire to that life," Sigsworth said.

And after navigating retirement themselves, both players understand they can still have an identity – after football.

"Life doesn't stop after football," Sigsworth said. "We got so consumed by it that we think it's the only thing we'll ever love. But I love my job now. I love having an identity again."

McManus feels the same.

"If you're retiring from football, yes you'll miss it," she said. "But you can absolutely find something else to fall in love with again."

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