Viviane Asseyi says 1998 World Cup inspired her football dream
Viviane Asseyi says watching France beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup sparked her ambition to become a professional footballer, with Zinedine Zidane as her inspiration. Her story shows how a childhood dream endured when women’s football was barely visible, and how her family’s humour and support helped her keep pursuing it.
Born in France to Gabonese parents, Asseyi grew up surrounded by her family’s culture and was playing football from an early age. She later earned a place at Clairefontaine, where only around 13 to 15 young players from across France are selected; there she studied alongside boys and became friends with future professionals including Alphonse Areola and Raphaël Guerreiro. Now at West Ham, she still speaks with her mother after matches, including after a 3-0 defeat by Brighton.
In short
- France’s 1998 World Cup win inspired Asseyi to play football.
- Her family supported her dream with humour and encouragement.
- She later joined Clairefontaine and now plays for West Ham.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “West Ham’s Viviane Asseyi: ‘When I was four I said I wanted to be like Zidane’”.