Eighteen year old Cairo born Sarah Essam has officially signed with Stoke City Ladies Club as a forward, making history as the first Egyptian female to ever compete in a women\u2019s premier league.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball means the world to me, my dream was to play in the Premier League,\u201d Essam told the BBC.<\/p>\n
Essam\u2019s first step in football was playing at Wadi Degla. She signed for the club in 2015 joining the youth team, and then got promoted to the senior squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went for a trial at Stoke, they made an offer for me and I was very happy,\u201d Essam added.<\/p>\n
Essam said that she sacrificed a lot to maintain her dedication regarding her set goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I succeed with Stoke, \u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The 19-year old football striker also received offers from Derby County and Birmingham City, in addition to Sunderland\u2019s juniors team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw that Stoke City would be the best option as a start for myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Studying engineering and playing in the Premier League, Essam thinks balance is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am obliged to make the balance between education and football,\u201d she said, especially \u201cbecause my parents were not convinced about the idea of playing football and wanted me to focus on my studies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Juggling between both her practice and classes, days can get tough for Essam.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get in times of despair of course, but I have to push on, because if I give up, all my efforts would just go to waste. I don\u2019t want that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Before moving to the UK, Essam played as a striker for the Egyptian National Team and Wadi Degla\u2019s team. She also competed in the African Cup qualifications and was involved in more than 20<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eighteen year old Cairo born Sarah Essam has officially signed with Stoke City Ladies Club as a forward, making history as the first Egyptian female to ever compete in a women\u2019s premier league. \u201cFootball means the world to me, my dream was to play in the Premier League,\u201d Essam told the BBC. Essam\u2019s first step […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":61644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[29739,29737,29738],"class_list":["post-61643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-section","tag-female-footballer","tag-sarah-essam","tag-wadi-degla"],"yoast_head":"\n