Rotherham United’s star striker Alesha Gale has spoke to SWYF about her time playing for the England Colleges at an invitational tournament in Rome in both 2024 and 2025.
The young forward reached the final of the tournament this season, with the Lionesses ultimately being defeated in their bid to retain the title, after suffering defeat to hosts Italy in the final.
Despite falling short on this occasion, Gale spoke with delight about the opportunity to play not just for England, but also to train and play games at the England training centre at St George’s Park.
Gale said: “It was a good experience, but I suppose I was only young and it was my first year, I was a bit on edge and I felt like I had to prove a point because last year I didn’t get picked to be in the team.
“I was on the reserve list and then one of the other players, she couldn’t go because she broke her arm.”
“I got called up and I felt like I had to prove my place in the squad because obviously I didn’t get picked first.”
England won the 2024 edition, with Gale playing a key role, scoring in each round, including the final to win the trophy in Rome.
Gale said: “We played Montenegro in the final and that was their actual women’s international team – England Colleges have never managed to win against them but we won 3-0.”
Gale also spoke about her domestic season, which saw her win the Player of the Season and top scorer award for Rotherham United as they finished third in the East Midlands Women’s Regional Premier.
Gale said that after a slightly rocky start, the team progressed well throughout the season, ultimately coming up just short of both Sheffield FC and Chesterfield Ladies.
“It was tough at first. We had a bit of disruption and some players struggled settling into the team. But as the season went on, when we got around halfway through the season, players got more settled but it was just too late in the season for us to finally prove where we needed to be in the league.”
The Millers picked up just two points from their opening four games, sitting eighth in the table.
They would then follow this up with nine wins in the next 10 league games under their new manager, Adam Rawlings, to sit second in late March before ultimately finishing third.
Gale said: “Adam [Rawlings] was brought in and even though it took a while for everyone to get used to him, I think as the back end of the season went on we adapted to his play style which was very different to our old manager.”
Gale told SYWF that her sights are set away from Rotherham this year, and she’s looking for a move to a team higher up the football pyramid.
When asked where she’d like to be playing next season, Gale said: “Just to play as high as I can to be fair. I’m aiming to play as high a tier as I can and push myself with a new team because I feel at Rotherham now I’ve got settled. I need to experience something that’s higher and something that will push me more.”
Gale told us that she also wants to play in the United States at some point in the future as well.
“Next year I am hoping to get a scholarship to go to America and play football over there.”
You can read more about Rotherham United’s season and their run to the League Cup final below.
Rotherham United’s Road To The League Cup Final – SYWF
