Hannah Hampton, the Chelsea and England goalkeeper, has revealed that doctors told her at 12 years old she was going to lose her sight and would never play football again, after medical examinations found she had severe strabismus and a condition that stopped her judging depth.
Hampton said she was told at 12 that she was going to lose her sight and would not be able to carry on playing football. She said doctors explained that her inability to judge distances made the sport dangerous and practically impossible, an obstacle that seemed impossible to overcome for someone who dreamed of playing in goal at the highest level.
Hampton did not give up. She had several operations for her vision problems, and her career continued regardless, taking her from Villarreal to Birmingham City and Aston Villa before she joined Chelsea in 2023, where she has established herself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
European champion with England
The revelation follows a standout 2025 in which Hampton helped England, known as the Lionesses, retain their European Championship title, saving two penalties against Spain in the final shootout. She was then named the first winner of the Women's Yashin Trophy, given annually to the best goalkeeper in the game, before being crowned FIFA's best female goalkeeper.
Hampton also won the Women's Super League Golden Glove for a second consecutive season. The WSL is England's top-flight women's competition, in which Chelsea have long been one of the dominant clubs. She signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea this summer, capping another outstanding year for the 25-year-old.
A summer of celebration
The goalkeeper has delighted fans with pictures from her holidays, taken after playing in three major tournaments over the past four years and now enjoying a well-earned break. She began the summer with a trip to Wimbledon, where she watched a match between Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, before swapping Centre Court for the waters off Zanzibar a couple of weeks later.
From the Tanzanian island, Hampton shared a series of pictures, including one of her swimming alongside turtles and another showing her cheering on England's men's team at the World Cup while wearing a Three Lions shirt.
Hampton, who was born in Birmingham, also returned to her home city to receive an honorary doctorate in sports science from the University of Wolverhampton. The university recognised what it called her exceptional achievements in football and her inspiring impact on young people across the region and beyond.
Six years at Villarreal
Hampton shared further photos from a trip to Barcelona, including a visit to Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia basilica and a stop at a club store where she wore the shirt of her former team, Villarreal. She trained with the Spanish side, nicknamed the Yellow Submarine, for six years before moving to England to join Birmingham City.
Her holidays also included an evening watching American country music star Luke Combs perform from a box at Wembley Stadium, England's national stadium in London.
