""I grew up in Singapore and that really helped me to have a multicultural background as I went to an international school," said Parkinson. "I was around lots of different people. I knew how to deal with that and appreciate that. "A lot of people I'm around can speak two or three languages but everyone here on camp only speaks English! "When we played Portugal in the summer I was able to translate their set-piece routines for the rest of the team which was good.""
""England were the first country that invited me into the national training centre. "They sent a scout out to Portugal to see my games. I was playing with boys at that point. They saw some clips of me online and realised I was half-English. "Once I got here, I just really liked the culture. Everyone is kind but also ambitious. I enjoyed the way England conducted themselves in the training sessions and the style of play in games.""
Erica Meg Parkinson is 17, born in Singapore to an English father and a Japanese mother, and plays club football for Portugal's Valadares Gaia. Parkinson is eligible to represent Japan, Singapore and Portugal internationally but has represented England across multiple youth levels, accumulating 44 youth caps and receiving a first England U23 call-up. She grew up in Singapore attending an international school, speaks four languages, and has translated Portuguese set-piece routines for teammates. Parkinson moved to Portugal at age 10, was scouted after clips and mixed-sex matches, and cites England's culture, ambition and playing style as reasons for her choice.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]