Lauren Hemp: Why the world should pay attention

She is just 20 years old, but Lauren Hemp has the football world at her feet.

Poised to play for Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Manchester City winger tore up the WSL in the 20/21 season and is set to take her skills global for the Games.

One of the youngest members of the 22-player squad, the explosive forward plays beyond her years and continues to go from strength to strength.

Norfolk-born Hemp proved herself to be an integral part of the City side who crawled back ground on the title-winning Chelsea side they pushed until the end, and will be looking to have a similar impact for Team GB.

The rise of Lauren Hemp

Lauren Hemp was always destined for football greatness.

Or so you would think, given she is a naturally gifted winger.

Young Hemp, however, was much more focused with dancing on the sidelines as her sister played football, rather than watching or playing herself.

“I was just there. I wasn't actually really keen on watching the football! I enjoyed dancing and I'd just be doing my little dances in the corner, while she was playing!” she revealed in an interview with Man City.

But playing football with her sister in their back garden made her dad spot something special in her.

Both of them were encouraged to join the local boys’ team, North Walsham, and that was where Hemp found “a real love of the game.”

From Norwich’s COE to Bristol and then finally onto her big Manchester City move – which her mother phoned then-coach Nick Cushing to make sure the interest was legitimate – Hemp now plays alongside players she spent her formative years looking up to.

And even before she was terrifying fullbacks at a senior level, Hemp went viral for perhaps one of the most bizarre goals to have been scored as she led England U20s to a third placed finish at the 2018 World Cup.

Rocking up over six million views, she found the humour in it herself, prompting the viewership to keep increasing and shooting her into an overnight phenomenon, even leading to getting recognised in her local chip shop.

What Hemp brings to Team GB

When Lauren Hemp has the ball at her feet, fans raise to their own in the anticipation that she will make something happen, as she does on many occasions.

Hemp's rise to success has seen her lauded in praise from not only her teammates, but from those who have faced her too.

“She’s exciting to watch, exciting to play alongside.

"She brings something different and she is only going to get better," said club and country teammate Ellen White.

Likewise, Chelsea captain Magdalena Eriksson dubbed her as "fantastic" as City and Chelsea drew 3-3 last season.

And when you watch her play, it is easy to see just why she is so highly praised.

Weaving in and out of defenders like they're not there, assisting teammates and bagging goals for herself, Hemp being at the top of her game could be key in Team GB unlocking defences in Tokyo.

Her dynamic and explosive presence on the wing is set to be no easy feat for defenders of any team.

Hemp's Olympic dream

The Olympics has always been a dream for Hemp.

When she and her sister were younger, they would live out their dream by making a Games of their own.

“When I was about ten, me and my sister used to do our own Olympics,” Hemp revealed.

“It was called the ‘Hemp Olympics’ and around the time of the Olympics, we’d go out in the garden and jump over bushes and see how far we could get!

“We did all these different events and in the end, I won obviously, but we sort of made our own Olympics."

And now, all those years later, she'll be embarking on the real deal.

She's already shown Manchester and followers of the Women's Super League what she is about, but this time she has the opportunity to show her dominance on the wing for the whole world to see.