Throughout 2025/26, we’ll be speaking to former West Ham United women’s team players who made a huge impact on and off the pitch during their time in Claret and Blue. Today, we’re talking to Rosie Kmita.
On 11 June 2018, Rosie Kmita made history, becoming the first female player to sign a professional contract at West Ham United.
Her contract came after a stellar first campaign with the Hammers, who then played in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division, as she scored ten goals in 19 appearances, and helped us lift the FA Women's Premier League Plate and Isthmian League Women's Cup along the way.
In our first-ever Women’s Super League season, the No16 made 14 appearances in the top flight - and under manager Matt Beard, who sadly passed away recently, she was on target in our first-ever WSL victory against Yeovil Town on 30 September 2018, scoring the winning goal at Rush Green Stadium.
Kmita discussed her love of working under Beard, who got the best out of her with his warm personality and infectious laugh. She will never forget turning around to see his beaming, overjoyed and proud smile when the Hammers defeated Reading on penalties to progress to the Women’s FA Cup final in 2019.
Making more history, Kmita duly came on as a substitute in the showpiece against Manchester City at Wembley, stepping on to the pitch in front of more than 40,000 supporters, including her proud family, who all donned Claret and Blue shirts in the stands.
Family was, and continues to be, so important to Kmita’s career. Having grown up with her twin sister Mollie, the pair followed each other from the parks of Enfield, to Saint Leo Lions in Florida, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United. And then when they had hung up their boots, they worked together at Sky Sports and the BBC, as they pursued a successful career in the media - and recently created ‘The Powerhouse Project’ to create better pathways and infrastructure for women in sports.
Kmita departed West Ham at the end of the 2018/19 campaign, having scored 14 goals in 38 appearances. She was the first to put pen to paper as a West Ham player in the WSL era. A trailblazer.
What was it like growing up in Enfield, dreaming of being a footballer?
“Growing up in Enfield was an absolute blessing because we - me and my twin sister Mollie - were constantly surrounded by the boys that loved footy. In turn, we were embraced as the ‘football girls’ growing up - and that was brilliant! Instead of feeling suppressed and not part of a community because we were girls, we were captains of the park team! I’m really grateful for my upbringing because it shaped and moulded me into the person I am now.”
You moved to America and joined the Saint Leo Lions in Florida with Mollie when you were 18. What was that experience like?
“You had to take an exam called the SAT to get out there. Typically people pass it the first time, but me and Mollie had to take it six times before passing! Thank God we found football!
“It was incredible. We went from playing for Tottenham, where there was my Dad and dog watching, to playing in front of big crowds and you’re living like a full-time athlete. I still can’t believe we did that!”
After returning from America, you played for Gillingham and London Bees before joining West Ham in 2017. What can you remember about your move to the Hammers?
“I was up and down throughout that stage in my life. There was a lot of moving here, there and everywhere, and I was at the age when I was trying to find myself. If you go on my Wikipedia now, the change of clubs will tell you that I was never settled!
“Mollie was at West Ham first and while I was at [London] Bees, all the girls at West Ham said, ‘Come and play at West Ham!’. It’s a running joke: whatever Mol does, I do as well! So I ended up following her to West Ham and thrived there.
“Being at West Ham, the family feel, the way they embraced me as soon as I came in. I thought, ‘This is the first time I’ve been at a club and I feel valued for who I am’. When you feel valued and the environment’s right, that can really get the best out of you as a player. It’s the first time I felt confident as a player and I will always hold a soft spot for West Ham because of that reason.”
What was it about the Club that made you feel so settled?
“I think it was because West Ham wanted to invest in the women’s side way before everyone else was doing it - and I loved that. I loved that regardless of what other clubs were doing, they cared about the women’s team, and you really felt that. You felt like you were one club and you wanted to run through a brick wall for a club that made you feel that way. West Ham was definitely that club for me.
“We had such a nice group of girls and I think that was really important. We didn’t have many egos there. We had an amazing couple of seasons and it’s amazing to look back on those memories.”
You then became the Club’s first professional women’s player. When did you first hear that the Club would become professional?
“We had just won the Premier League Plate and the Women’s League Cup, so there were definitely whispers about it [after that]. I thought if it’s going to happen, amazing, but at the same time, and this shows where my confidence was at, even if they went professional, I probably wouldn’t be taken on. That was the conversation I had in my head, so I didn’t allow myself to get too excited at that point.
“Then, I was in Bali with Claire Rafferty, and I got an email [about signing professionally for the Club] and I couldn’t believe it! The fact the Club believed in me enough to take me into that professional set-up was amazing. It reinforced everything I thought about the Club in the first place.”
It’s interesting that you didn’t have the confidence that the Club would want to keep you?
“I always understood that football’s ruthless. That’s not personal to you, but it’s the way the game is. Maybe I was trying to protect myself and lower the bar a little bit. I’ve always lacked that confidence and I’ve worked hard to try and change those internal conversations I have. The Club believed in me more than I believed in myself, which was so beautiful.”
When you see the Club now, whether that be on TV or social media, do you ever think, ‘I was their first professional player’?
“I don’t think about it from a personal standpoint, but when I see West Ham, I think about how much the Club did for me. I really have to thank West Ham for my career now because they gave me the platform to speak to the big broadcasters as a player, and that helped me transition into the presenting side of things. I will always have a lot of love for the Club.”
What memories do you have of working under Matt Beard in our first season in the WSL?
“I’ve never known such an amazing character to work under, when it came to someone managing me in my football career. Matt had a really infectious laugh first of all, which was always amazing to be around. You could always hear that laugh from wherever you were.
“He was able to bring the best out of myself as a player and the other players that worked under him. He made it very easy to be around him and that’s what I loved the most about working under him at West Ham. He put me at ease and allowed me to feel that I could also be myself on and off the pitch.
“I will never forget reaching the FA Cup final and playing under him at that time. I will never forget his face when that last penalty went in [in the semi-finals against Reading] and we all ran over to him. That’s a memory I’ll take with me forever.
“Those penalties against Reading, I can’t even express how I felt when we got through to the final. It was just absolutely amazing. Even to this day, I sit and think, ‘I can’t believe we played in an FA Cup final!’. That’s a standout moment for me."
When did you realise you wanted to get into broadcasting?
“Being honest with myself, I knew the jump to the WSL was too big for me, from a playing perspective. I enjoyed the interviews and having a conversation. If you have more conversations, you make women feel less alone, and that was important for me to be at the forefront of the narrative that I was trying to create.
“I loved to speak and be in front of the camera, so when the opportunities arose off the back of my playing career, I thought, ‘If I’m not going to be at the top of my game in the WSL, where do I see myself thriving in this space?’ and the broadcast world sat really nicely with me.
“As hard as it was to leave so early on in my career and stop playing, it felt like I’d got out what I wanted from my playing career, and I wanted to take on a new challenge.”
And now you’re running The Powerhouse Project with Mollie!
“My career was difficult to navigate at times because of that lack of confidence and self belief. I believe if I backed myself a little more when I was younger, I would have found my space in sport and broadcasting a lot sooner.
“The Powerhouse Project is involved with the pillars of playing, coaching, media and business, and ultimately, it’s about creating better pathways and infrastructure for women coming through, so they have that support and shoulder to lean on when they lack that confidence.
“How we do that is by building bespoke programmes, focusing on what females need in this space - which is community. I’m really proud of the work we’re doing.”
