Hannah Hampton: The extraordinary story of the Yashin Trophy winner doctors told to stop playing

Robin Bairner

• 30 Sept 2025 09:00 BST
• 7 min read

Feature

Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton celebrated winning the 2025 Yashin Trophy award alongside Manchester City shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

In doing so, she became the first female winner of the prestigious award, which is presented to the world's best goalkeepers.

It also marked a long road to the top for the 24-year-old, who was born with a squint and was told by doctors to stop playing.

Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and England have all profited from Hampton’s decision to ignore the experts, and she has now been rewarded for her persistence by being named the best female keeper in the world.

“I love proving people wrong,” she admitted in an interview with L’Equipe following her Yashin Trophy triumph.

Last season, she played every minute of the WSL with Chelsea, keeping a joint league-high 13 clean sheets in 22 games as the Blues eased to the title with only 13 goals conceded. The FA Cup and League Cup followed in a historic treble campaign.

But it was with England at Euro 2025 that she really caught the attention of the wider public as the Lionesses claimed the title in part thanks to her penalty-saving heroics.

This came against the backdrop of personal tragedy as she lost her grandpa just two days before the competition started.

“I know, deep down, you were still there. I felt you with me. In the tunnel. On the pitch. In the tough moments. I heard you in my head when I needed strength,” she wrote in an emotional Instagram post after victory on spot-kicks over Spain in the final.

How Hannah Hampton became a global star

It is ironic in many ways that it was La Roja that England beat in that showpiece, given that Hampton says that she owes Spain greatly for her development.

“If I hadn’t grown up in Spain, I wouldn’t be at this level,” she admitted. “I loved every second I spent there.”

It was a chance encounter with former Argentine Fabricio Fuentes that led to Hampton first joining a club.

She explained that she moved to Spain due to her parents being teachers and that she and her brother were left in the school playground late in the day while mum and dad worked.

“We would kick a ball around,” she said. “One of the Villarreal players sent his daughter to the school, Fabricio Fuentes. He saw me playing and told me try out at the club. It all started from there.

“Spanish football helped me more than you can imagine.”

Told to stop

When the family moved back to England, there was a nasty shock waiting, with Hampton, who had previously had several surgeries to correct a severe squint, told to stop playing by doctors.

“They discovered I had no depth perception,” she admits. “There were simple things I didn’t know how to do, like catch a ball.

“I found a way to get used to it. I’d like to explain, but it’s just become normal for me.”

Now, Hampton considers her “disability” as a strength, though she admits it can be “depressing” when reading comments under certain pictures.

Indeed, there has been nothing conventional about her route to the top. This is best typified by the fact that for a long period as a youth, she would play as a centre-forward for her club, Stoke City, but in goal for England.

“One day our regular keeper got injured during the warm-up and I thought: ‘I’ll have a bit of fun.’

“Miraculously, there was a scout from the FA on the sidelines. He came up to me at the end of the game and said: ‘We want you to be our keeper.’

“I didn’t think I’d go far, so I played goalkeeper for the national team and striker for my club for two years until I had to pick.

“I keep telling Sarina [Wiegman, England coach] and Sonia [Bompastor, Chelsea manager] that I’m great as a No.9!”

Still in the early days of her career at 24 years old, Hampton has set a new target for herself: win the Champions League with Chelsea.

Given the manner in which she has steamrolled doubters to achieve what she already has, it would be brave to back against her achieving this feat.

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