Our Women’s first team are currently based in southern Spain for 12 days of intense training sessions alongside two friendlies against Liga F sides – a 1-0 win over Granada on Sunday before a meeting with Real Madrid on Wednesday evening.
While the focus will be on pitch preparations for the 2026/27 Barclays Women’s Super League in just under a month’s time, the importance of the benefits away from the football can’t be understated.
Julie particularly raised that when we sat down with her on the fourth day of the performance camp as, after joining us midway through last term, she is experiencing her first pre-season with the club – highlighting the opportunity to build better rapport with her team-mates.
Trying to find some shade from the scorching sun, temperatures reaching the mid-30s, the Norway international reflected on the early parts of our time in Spain: “It's really nice to have a whole pre-season to prepare for the next season and also with new players coming in, especially with a camp, that makes a lot of difference to the group.
“You get to know people on a different level and I think that's important for what we do on the pitch as well because I think we can play better together as a team, where we know each other better, and on a more personal level as wel. So, for me, it's been good so far and I think the next couple of weeks we will just build those relationships, and hopefully that will show on the pitch for the next season.
“It's so much easier to connect when you have that downtime in between training sessions and you can spend time together that's not only on the pitch because you get to know people on a different level - and realise that there's so much more than just football to all the people here.
“I think that's cool and interesting as well and, as I said, I think that's important for how we perform, contributing to building a culture and hopefully that will make us even better on the pitch.”
Joining us from Hammarby IF nearly seven months ago, the 24-year-old is enjoying life in London and has been exploring a few different activities so far.
“It's just nice to start a new season not thinking about everything outside of football, but you can actually just focus on the football and enjoy what's around.
“Usually I use my off days to relax and disconnect from football as well, but when I have friends over, it’s definitely going into town and trying different restaurants. I have been to a couple of musicals, hopefully I can go to some concerts at some point as well. It's a really good city and a lot of things to explore.
When asked about her favourite musical she has seen so far, she told us: “I enjoyed Mamma Mia the most, I think. I've seen Lion King but that was ages ago when I was a small kid, I enjoyed it a lot, so I would probably try to see that one more time.
“But Mamma Mia was really fun and, for me, because I know all the songs, it just makes it so much more entertaining as well.”