Manchester, UK: Arsenal legend and the first Black woman to captain England, Mary Phillip is set to enter the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
Phillip’s induction took place at the museum on Monday 27 October as part of a preview of Black in the Game, a brand-new exhibition coming in 2025. The Score Gallery exhibition will open to the public in Autumn of 2025 and tells the important story of black footballers in the English game.
Phillip was inducted for her exemplary playing career at domestic and international level and her pioneering feats that have gone well beyond her time on the pitch, right into present day.
Upon the news, Phillip said: “It’s really nice to be inducted here. I’ve been told it’s been a long time coming, many years I was told that my name often came up, but this year it came through. It couldn’t be a better time with Black in the Game coming out as well. It’s amazing to be part of all of this.”
The tough, versatile defender earned 65 international caps and was part of the Lionesses squad that competed in England’s first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1995. Phillip also played a key role in England’s journey to the quarter-finals at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In addition to her impressive international career, Phillip enjoyed significant success at club level. She began her career with Millwall Lionesses before moving to Fulham, where she helped secure a domestic treble in 2003. Further achievements came at Arsenal under Vic Akers, including a historic victory in the UEFA Women’s Cup, marking the first time an English club won the competition.
Since retirement, Phillip continues to make history as the head coach of Peckham Town’s men’s team, the first woman to hold that position. Under her guidance, the club clinched the London Senior Trophy in 2020.
As the first Black woman to captain her country, Mary Phillip is one of the pioneers of the women’s game who laid the foundations for many to follow in her footsteps.
Black in the Game is the museum’s inaugural co-curatorial exhibition, having assembled a representative panel of football professionals and academic leaders in equality, diversity and inclusion to help bring this exhibition together. Mary Phillip being one of said panel.
The exhibition will be a programmatic highlight of the museum’s Football Creates initiative, which uses the unrivalled power of football to engage people and communities in creativity, championing inclusion and improving wellbeing.
Tim Desmond, CEO of the National Football Museum said: “Mary’s journey is studded with trailblazing achievements up until the very present day and we’re delighted to be inducting her into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame.
“Her unprecedented feats have undoubtedly inspired generations of women and people of a minority background to pursue a career in football. In 2019, the National Football Museum relaunched the Hall of Fame with a commitment to achieve 50% female representation across the game and celebrating pioneers such as Mary is something we pride ourselves on and feel grateful to be a part of.”
Phillip joins an abundance of esteemed inductees who have championed women in football, including Rebecca Welch, Kerry Davis, Steph Houghton, Jill Scott and former teammates Faye White and Rachel Yankey.