'now Feels Like The Right Time To Start Family'

For arsenic agelong arsenic she tin remember, shot has been Simone Magill's life.

In a master profession that started astatine Everton arsenic a teenager, she has gone connected to go nan skipper of her state and 1 of nan astir recognisable sporting names successful Northern Ireland.

But now, she will embark connected a caller section successful her life arsenic she is expecting her first kid successful May pinch her husband, Mark.

Football will return a backmost spot for nan adjacent fewer months, and Magill, 31, says some her and Mark person "felt truthful overmuch love" since they announced their news.

"It's thing I've ever wanted astatine immoderate shape successful my life and this conscionable felt for illustration nan correct clip for Mark and I to want to commencement a family," nan Birmingham City striker told BBC Sport NI.

"We've been really overwhelmed pinch nan emotion and support from everyone, and everyone is ace excited for us.

"My telephone didn't extremity erstwhile it was announced. For each of nan shot occurrence I've had passim nan years I've ne'er had thing for illustration this erstwhile nan news broke. We've decidedly felt nan love."

Magill spent nan mostly of her profession her nine profession astatine Everton, who she joined arsenic an 18-year-old successful 2013.

In 2022, aft starring Northern Ireland to their first awesome tournament, she moved to Aston Villa for a caller start, and she past switched to Birmingham City past year.

After concisely falling retired of emotion for nan game earlier her move to Villa, she has now settled pinch nan Blues and said she was astatine a constituent successful her life erstwhile she was fresh to commencement a family.

"I was perpetually asking myself erstwhile nan correct clip was. At nan extremity of past play I was really satisfied pinch everything I had done, and I was conscionable ready.

"You tin only scheme truthful much, but I said I was happy to for america to commencement trying. It's conscionable really exciting, thing very different and I'm really looking guardant to it."

Having played her past lucifer successful September, Magill will beryllium retired of action for nan remainder of nan WSL2 season, and Northern Ireland's 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign.

But it was her past prolonged play retired of nan game, erstwhile she sustained an ACL wounded successful Northern Ireland's Euro 2022 opener, that she realised "there was much to life than football".

"That was erstwhile I realised that I want to put myself first. I've put shot first my full life and successful my career," Magill said.

"I deliberation it is important to recognise that location is truthful overmuch much to maine than Simone Magill nan footballer. That's very overmuch nan connection that I want to get across."

Magill announced nan gestation to her Birmingham City team-mates successful an affectional video, and nan nine presented her pinch a 'Magill #9' babe kit.

She is still astir her team-mates, but her immoderate interaction has been taken retired of her training sessions and she has her ain individual programme.

"It's thing that we've ever wanted and it's really bully now that successful nan manufacture that I'm successful that it's feasible for maine to spell and person a patient gestation and enactment involved. It's afloat wrong my ambitions that I want to travel back.

"I'm really fortunate to consciousness supported by some my nine and country, which is conscionable fantastic.

"At my nine particularly things are tailored to what I need. I'm training individually but I'm still successful and astir nan girls arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin be.

"I'm doing warm-ups and immoderate shape of non-contact training that I tin do.

"There will beryllium a definite constituent wherever I'll person to return that spot of a measurement backmost but astatine nan infinitesimal it has been fantastic."

If Magill needs immoderate inspiration to make a comeback aft her pregnancy, she doesn't person to look immoderate further than her Northern Ireland team-mate Sarah McFadden.

McFadden, 38, gave commencement to her 2nd kid astatine nan commencement of 2025 and returned to world shot for November's Nations League play-off conclusion by Iceland.

"Sarah is simply a sparkling illustration for me. Hopefully I tin possibly spell and animate a procreation successful a caller measurement than possibly I've done successful nan past by going connected this journey.

"She was 1 of nan first group to really scope retired to me. I've been chatting to her rather a bit. I cognize everyone's travel is different, truthful it's difficult for maine to comparison and group myself patient goals and targets.

"I want to travel back, it's my ambition to do truthful and God consenting everything goes soft capable truthful that is doable for me.

"But to person group for illustration Sarah who I tin spell and talk to, I'm very fortunate to person her and others who I cognize successful nan crippled arsenic well."

For now, Magill will beryllium connected nan sidelines and beryllium nan "biggest fan" for some Birmingham City and Northern Ireland.

"It tin beryllium difficult to watch, you ever want to beryllium playing," she said.

"But I've afloat religion successful nan girls and some nine and country, and I'll beryllium nan biggest instrumentality connected nan sidelines."