Focus on errors can 'tarnish' goalkeepers - Hampton

Breaking news from the world of sport: Focus on errors can 'tarnish' goalkeepers - HamptonImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hannah Hampton was a standout performer for England at Euro 2025ByEmma Sanders Sport women’s football news reporterPublished7 minutes agoEngland number one Hannah Hampton says media companies can "tarnish the reputation" of female goalkeepers by focusing on mistakes and not their positive performances. The 25-year-old was speaking at the Women's Super League awards where she won the Golden Glove for a second successive season. Chelsea's Hampton is a two-time European champion with England and starred at Euro 2025 with her penalty shootout heroics, before being named the best female goalkeeper at September's Ballon d'Or ceremony.

"Women's goalkeepers always get scrutiny, but when we do something right there is not enough celebrating or acknowledgement of that," said Hampton. "We have to start doing it to one another, then the media will hopefully follow. There's a lot of goalkeepers out there that should get more credit than they do.

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"The media have a big impact. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, all of a sudden they are the first people to put video clips out there and tarnish the reputation of women's goalkeeping. "Why put someone down when we're trying to put women's football on the map where it deserves to be?

We have to champion each other's successes. "I think media companies can do a lot better in terms of what they put out there. "Hampton's rise to best keeper in the world Published22 September 2025How generation of cool keepers silenced trolls Published3 October 2025Hampton's career has been far from smooth sailing, with the ex-Birmingham City goalkeeper hitting headlines when she was dropped from the England squad in 2022 shortly after their first Euros triumph.

Reports said it was a result of her behaviour and she had to wait until March 2023 for a recall, when manager Sarina Wiegman said Hampton had "sorted out personal issues". Speaking about that time, Hampton said the stories were "hurtful" and she later revealed on the Fozcast podcast she had considered quitting football. In November, Mary Earps - her former England team-mate and predecessor as number one - released an autobiography which heavily criticised Hampton.

Reactions and Expectations

Earps claimed she told Wiegman she was rewarding "bad behaviour" by recalling Hampton, who had previously been dropped for being "disruptive and unreliable". Hampton, who kept eight clean sheets in 19 WSL appearances this season, says goalkeepers need to support each other. "I think goalkeepers hold a unique pressure that really only goalkeepers truly understand," added Hampton.

"When I see other goalkeepers making worldie saves, it pushes me and drives me. The women's game, and goalkeepers especially, are getting to those standards that we hold ourselves to so highly. "We're a group, a union.

If we can't rely on each other, then we can't rely on anyone.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.