Hayley Ladd on the growth of the women's game, sustainability, and Palace's one club philosophy
With over 100 caps for Wales and a career spanning more than a decade at the top of the English game, Hayley Ladd's arrival at Crystal Palace brought more than just experience to South London; it brought a unique perspective on how the sport she loves interacts with the world around it.
While many know her for her tenacity on the pitch, Ladd is equally committed to her work away from it.
An MBA graduate and a champion for the Football for Future initiative, she has spent much of her career balancing the physical demands of elite football with a passion for environmental sustainability.
Reflecting on the explosion of the women's game during her 13 years in the sport on the Sports Positive podcast, Ladd admits the journey has been a surreal one.
"I guess the most standout thing for me is I can't believe, when I was 17, that women's football would explode in the way that it has.
"I never thought that I could be a professional even for a few years, let alone for over a decade. Every day I think how lucky and privileged I am to play at such an exciting time," she said.
Before the professional era truly took hold, Ladd was juggling multiple coaching jobs alongside her playing career to make ends meet.
It was during this time that her interest in the environment began to merge with her professional life.
Ladd said: "It’s something that comes naturally to me. As an adult now, it’s something that feels just right to continue and to take into my profession and working life - to try and just do things that I can to improve football in the way that it interacts with the environment, too."
Her commitment to the cause went as far as her MBA thesis, where she used her time at Manchester United as a case study to explore the complexities of sustainability within the Premier League.
The research highlighted the invisible hurdles clubs face, such as stadium infrastructure that prevents simple swaps like moving from plastic bottles to reusable kegs.
She said: "I had some really interesting interviews regarding innovative ways in which we can encourage progress.
"It dawned on me that we can be a bit more creative with it - take a few more risks to try and encourage clubs to do things differently.
"From a governance perspective, we can promote things, but also from an incentive point of view, we can make clubs compete to be the best in the environmental sustainability world as well."
She points to the 'One Club' philosophy at Palace as a major strength.
"I think the way in which the women's game is growing, you have a really unique opportunity to collaborate with the men's side and the academies - utilising sharing of resources and facilities at the training ground.
"I know teams are quite protective of having a particular schedule - we must be on the grass at each day at 10am, for example - but whilst protecting each other's schedules, I think you can also breed this really positive, collaborative one club philosophy where you can utilise the same resources.
"It's so positive to have these clubs and these teams working alongside each other and sharing solutions and just collaborating on a really positive level," Ladd said.
Whether it’s connecting with fans or discussing climate solutions with fellow athletes, Ladd is focused on ensuring the game’s growth is sustainable in every sense of the word.
"Sustainability has been a key topic in the women's game over the last five years where we've had this influx of investment, but people are worried about how women's football clubs are associated with the men's clubs and those funding streams.
"The sustainability aspect of making sure that people can play football, how the grassroots accessibility is there in terms of pitches and having it be affordable basically to be able to start football and play football and continue to thrive within the sport - for me that's big."
"I feel really stimulated when I'm playing professionally and giving my absolute best on a physical and competitive front every day.
"But then to caveat that and cut through it with some reading or a bit of studying is something that I really enjoy. It’s so satisfying."