Shortly after Dali’s brother died, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. The
France midfielder tells her story for the first time
“I would tell myself to look at my mother’s bravery. She always smiled. Even without her hair. For a woman it’s really difficult to not have hair and eyelashes – you don’t feel like a woman any more. Cancer breaks everything.”
West Ham’s midfielder Kenza Dali has not told her story before. During 12 years of playing in France, including with Lyon and
Paris Saint-Germain, she kept quiet about the traumatic circumstances that formed the backdrop to her promising early career.