2016 to present

Birmingham City Women

Hannah started her senior career with Blues Women initially joining the Academy team before progressing through to the first team.

SUMMARY:

Hampton joined Stoke City FC when returning from Spain with her family. During her time at Stoke she made the transition from a forward to a goalkeeper. In 2016, Hampton left Stoke City and in 2016 joined Birmingham City. On 5 November 2017, she made her senior debut for the club in the continental cup against Doncaster Belles. In the 2017-18 season Hampton made a total of 8 appearances in all competitions.

In 2018, after the departure of Ann Katrin Berger, Hampton found much more time on the pitch, starting 12 of the 20 FA Women's Super League matches for that season and 3 in the League Cup.

Hampton signed a new contract for Birmingham City on 5 September 2019, extending her deal until Summer 2021

Career

It was February of this year that Phil Neville first called her up to be part of his senior squad, as a training player for the SheBelieves Cup in the United States.

"I remember it like it was yesterday, it was honestly incredible," Hampton says, recalling one of her last footballing experiences before the Covid-19 pandemic suspended her third senior season.

"I was at home packing, ready for a trip to Sunderland, and I just got a phone call off Phil, and it didn't come up with his name or anything. I just answered it going 'hello' and he was like, 'Hi, this is Phil Neville' and I'm a bit like, 'oh my goodness'.

"When he told me that I was going, I did cry on the phone, I'm not even joking, I was so amazed.

"As soon as I finished the call, I called my brother. He was at university, he was in a lecture, and I called him.

"He was saying that apparently everyone in the lecture just looked and stared at him because apparently he jumped up and screamed!

"It was quite surreal to be honest. I think I did not take a smile off my face the whole trip.

"My performances last year were nowhere near where I wanted them to be, so I got it in my head like, 'Look, it's not this season, you know you can do a lot better"," she says, explaining why the call-up came as such a shock.

"I think the coaches knew that because they had seen me at England the whole time, like I've come through the whole age groups.

"A lot of the times on Under-21 camp, [Neville] would pop down, and he would look at you and watch you training. I just never thought it would ever happen.

"I thought I'd have to wait another year, maybe two. I had just got a phone call out of nowhere really, so it was incredible."

In the States, Hampton was training with the best that England had to offer, including veteran goalkeeper Carly Telford, who she admits was something of an idol for her growing up.

"It's just one of those things where you're like, 'Oh imagine if I played for England one day" - and you're there and you're playing with them. It was surreal," the teenager, capped regularly at youth level for England, says.

"I do remember looking up to Carly Telford so much, just the way she - like the way she shows herself against everything, really.

"She's definitely someone that I was kind of fan-girling [about], not going to lie. It was incredible. Honestly, it was amazing.

"I think being around top-end players every single day on and off the pitch you learn so much. It's always going to be a valuable experience.

"There are things that you didn't realise you needed to do. They would come along and just help you out straight away and kind of take you under their arm, just guide you around and show you the ropes.

"It's quite weird being shown around by the likes of Carly Telford and Steph Houghton, for sure. I mean, I just got used to playing against them, let alone training with them."