Maya Le Tissier pulled on the familiar black and white stripes of her childhood club this week.
The England Women’s squad recently wore the shirts of their first ever teams for a training session ahead of the upcoming Euros in Switzerland.
For Maya that meant the St Martin’s kit that she had worn while playing grassroots football at Blanche Pierre Lane before she made a permanent move to England.
The Lionesses were at St George’s Park for the training session wearing their old kits.
The idea was to pay tribute to the coaches, volunteers, and communities that nurtured their early talent.
Young players from the clubs had travelled to watch the training session too.
Maya used to travel to England when she was a young player herself as part of her progression plans.
She had joined Saints initially when she was four and stayed playing for the team until she left Guernsey permanently at 16.
Her dad, Darren was one of her coaches at Blanche Pierre Lane, and Maya has previously credited him and her mum for helping her make the move from grassroots football to playing professionally.
Speaking to England Football in 2024, Maya described how they would take her away regularly for training sessions and games with teams in England after her talent had been spotted.
She also had special praise for her childhood club.
“When I look back to grassroots football, I loved it,” she told England Football.
“All the lads saw me as just another one of them. They didn’t go easy on me and I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed it. We have such a good community spirit back home.
“Like I mentioned, I played for St Martins all the way through so I know everyone who ran it so well and it’s really nice to be able to give something back to them. Even when I am back home for pre-season, I’m able to use their pitches and things like that, which is really nice of them. I love St Martins, they are great.”