With two days to go until her side’s Coupe de France Féminine final against Paris FC at the Stade de l’Épopée in Calais, the France international talks about her journey through football and about being a role model for the next generation.
Grace, how did your footballing journey begin?
"I started at the age of five with my big brother, who also played football. He was the one who made me want to get into it. We'd have kickabouts in the garden at home... and we'd break everything! My parents, especially my mother, were reluctant. What scared her was not having any real vision of my future, and there were also the stereotypes. She would hear people saying things that weren't necessarily positive about the fact that her daughter played football."
Did you know straight away that you wanted to have a career in football?
"Having left home early to join a boarding school [at Clairefontaine] and to end up living with girls that I didn't know at all when I'm a very family-orientated person at heart, I gradually told myself that it was possible to reach that level. I worked hard in training and allowed myself to believe that I could make it because, at first, that wasn't necessarily the case for my loved ones."
What was the hardest thing at the start?
"Finding out who I was as a player. At 16–17 years old, there were times when I wasn't necessarily getting youth-team call-ups, and I was criticised a lot for being very nonchalant and for resting on my laurels. Given that I had so many qualities at that age, people always expected a lot from me, and that made for a long period of time when I would ask myself why people always expected me to do more than everyone else."
Do you have any advice about becoming a professional?
"If you want to be a pro, you can't just stick with what you already know how to do; that's impossible. You have to work more, to gain an understanding and to watch videos of yourself, and it was at the age of 19 that I realised that people were telling me that because I was capable of doing it."
What has been your greatest strength?
"I would say my maturity. I understood things very early on in terms of managing my career. From a very young age, I was disciplined and I didn't necessarily do what other kids might do at that age. I stayed very focused on my aims, and I think that I saved time by doing so."
What advice that you would have liked to hear at their age would you give to young girls?
"What I'd tell them isn't necessarily what they'd want to hear. I'd tell them that if they want to have a career in football, they need to realise that it won't be easy. They need to realise that it's normal to have obstacles along the way. There are always setbacks."
What are the most touching things that the young players that you've met have said to you?
"The most touching thing for me is when they tell me, ‘You're the one that inspires me’. You might think that they're just words, but at the end of the day, they're powerful."
What tips would you give to a young female footballer?
"The best tip that I could give would be not to have any regrets. You need to be daring. You obviously also need to give yourself the means to succeed because even if you're daring, you can't rest on your laurels. You need to keep working hard so that you can at least be satisfied with that."
Why is being a role model so important to you?
"It matters so much to me because I've been through all of those things, and I think that I would've liked to have a person that I could've taken inspiration or advice from. When you're young and you don't necessarily believe in yourself, meeting a professional player who has already made it, who has been through all of those things and who can give you advice and support can make things click. I'm close to the younger generation because I was young once, too."
And what would you say to the young Grace?
"‘Congratulations’ because at that age, I never would have imagined that I could be who I am today. ‘Congratulations’ because that young girl never gave up. I started out with dreams and also with a lot of doubts, of course, but I believed that I could make it, and now, I'm proud to have done so."