A DROITWICH accountant has swapped the numbers game for the beautiful game after signing a professional contract with Women’s Super League side Notts County Ladies.
Chelsea Weston will be rubbing shoulders with the likes of England’s World Cup defender Laura Bassett after putting pen to paper on her first ever full-time contract.
The 26-year-old right back, who used to play part-time for Birmingham City Ladies, has been on the sidelines over the past year nursing a knee injury.
During her rehabilitation, Weston worked as an accountant at Baldwins Accountants in Stourbridge for twelve months while also doing punditry work for Birmingham City Ladies in her spare time.
Looking back at the past year, the new Magpies defender and former England international was extremely grateful to Baldwins for helping her get to where she is today.
“The past year has been extremely difficult trying to recover from my injury and not knowing if my football career was over, and without having an employer as understanding as Baldwins has been, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today,” she said.
“I’ve had to attend various rehab appointments that clashed with my day job, and they were really supportive by granting me the time to get my body back to its best, so I really can’t thank them enough.
“The accountancy role helped me to take my mind off the devastating injury that I had, and enabled me to exercise my mind a lot more with numbers while my body was resting.
“Birmingham City decided not to renew my contract in January, but after a trial with Notts County I’ve managed to resurrect my football career.
“It’s been my dream ever since I was little to be a professional footballer, so to finally be able to get paid for what is my hobby is amazing.
“My main aim for the next year is to get as many minutes under my belt to make up for the time spent on the sidelines.”
Ian Wilkins, director at Baldwins in Stourbridge, worked with Weston throughout her tenure and is tipping her to have a successful career.
He added: “To go through the setbacks that Chelsea has had and come back even stronger is testament to her strong character, which I’m sure will set her up for a great career in the game.
“Everybody at Baldwins wishes her the best for the future, and we’ll be cheering her on from afar.”
