Why London’s summer training suddenly made me care about headbands again
Alexia Putellas — La Reina to half of Catalonia, and now, somehow, a London City Lioness — rocked the WSL timeline this week. Fair enough. Two Ballon d’Ors don’t just stroll into a second-season project without the group chat exploding. Me? I was on a sticky East London 3G the same night, hair already glued to my forehead by the twentieth minute, missing a near-post run because I blinked wrong. That’s when I remembered why headbands aren’t a fashion footnote in women’s football. They’re how a striker keeps the ball in her eyeline when the air feels like a kettle.
What actually changes when a Ballon d’Or midfielder lands in the WSL
The feeds are full of wages, “why London City?”, and whether the top three should be nervous. Down at amateur and academy level, the copycatting is quieter and more honest. Girls clock the boots, the calf sleeves, the way a player’s hair never once drifts into the shooting lane. Putellas arriving in London doesn’t invent that habit — it just turns the volume up. Suddenly every Tuesday night looks a bit more intentional. And yes, a lot of that intention starts with headbands.
I’d have backed myself to finish that near-post ball with my eyes shut. I couldn’t, because long hair in London humidity is a different opponent.
Headbands aren’t vanity when you play up front
If you don’t play through the middle, this sounds dramatic. If you do, you know the drill: the run is early, the cross is late, and you do not get a free hand to scrape fringe out of your lashes. On a windy, wet-slick 3G, the standing foot is already negotiating with the surface. The last thing you need is your own hair staging a coup.
That’s the unglamorous case for proper headbands for girls — not a shiny pre-wrap moment for the camera, just something that stays put from warm-up to the last corner. I’ve tried the “just shove it in a bobble and pray” method. It lasts until the first sprint. After that you’re playing with one eye and a bad mood.
If your kitbag is already open for the new season, start simple: a pair that doesn’t slide when you sweat. We’ve been using our own headbadns on those East London evenings for exactly that reason — keep the fringe honest, keep the finish yours.
