Alisha Lehmann reveals how social media has affected people’s perception of her as she opens up to talkSPORT radio station.
The 24 year old, who is close to 12,000,000 Instagram followers, is quite frankly considered an influencer and and she likes to think she is someone who uses it for good.
The player is more popular on Insta than his compatriot Roger Federer, as well as the likes of Tommy Fury, Jake Paul, Jack Grealish and Max Verstappen who are also among the most followed sportspeople right now.
“I train everyday. It’s my first priority.” 💪
“Some people only see the social media, and question if I even play football!”@lehmann_alisha reveals how social media has affected people’s perception of her. 📱 pic.twitter.com/XLEezlOY4K
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 21, 2023
Women’s football in Europe is seeing quite a transformation for the better, especially after England’s win at the European championship last year which attracted record viewing figures, boosting interest in the Women’s Super League.
The popularity will only grow from here along with the upcoming World Cup, where Alisha Lehmann’s Switzerland will be featuring.
She will also see a lot of attention thanks to her social media presence, which she says isn’t an issue.
“To be honest, I don’t really think about it,” she said. “It’s not something where I wake up every day and think, oh my God, I have so many followers.
“It’s more that it’s really nice, the support and everything and it’s also a big opportunity.
“I would like to show the world that women can actually do it in football and you don’t need to just to be normal.
“You can also be a bit crazy, just be you, and use your personality to show the world who you are.”
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
“Some people just see Instagram and social media and don’t even know I actually play football,” she adds.
“When I don’t post a football picture for a week, people say, ‘oh she doesn’t even play’.
“I think sometimes it’s a bit hard because obviously I play like I train every day, like everyone else, like I play every weekend and sometimes it’s hard because they make a picture of you.
“I’m a proper footballer. I work hard every day. I want to be the best version of myself in football and that’s my first priority in life.”
Lehmann says nearly everyone who plays in her home country needs a second job. And while some may criticise how she used Insta, she thinks social media can help the sport grow and change people’s perceptions.
She said: “England probably is the picture everyone should look at because I don’t think in other countries it increased that much.
“In Switzerland, for example, everyone’s still working, 90 per cent probably still work.
“I don’t think you can compare like anything between women’s and men’s football because it’s just so different how people look at us and how people look at them.
“It’s just not the same. Women’s football is always second class. I don’t think you’ll ever be first class because I think a lot of people still think that men’s football is the first priority.
“They don’t think about women’s football and I think that’s a big problem. Now social media is really helpful because people actually see, oh, we play football, we can play football.
“When they come to their first game, after they say ‘oh it’s not even that bad’ they’re surprised but people judge before they even saw the actual game.”
When asked if will things ever be equal, she replied: “I don’t think this will ever happen to be honest, maybe in the next 100 years but we will not be here anymore.
“I hope that in the summer when we play the World Cup it’s a big, big thing. I hope that will push women’s football more forward.
“We just need to live in the moment and appreciate what we have now and obviously grow it.”
This is what fans had to say as Alisha Lehmann reveals how social media has affected people’s perception of her…
@sutepm: I now see why Douglas Luiz signed a new Villa contract 😂
@jonboy_avfc: I thought that Alisha was going to make a bold, but painfully honest assessment of the current climate – a cultural shift that takes time; if you can see it, you can be it. However, the term “second-class” sends us back 100 years…
@shanesmithuk: I’m all for it let people do whatever it is that makes them happy!
@Slice998: She knows exactly what she’s doing and why she’s got such a following. 😂
@UnitedVlogs: Seems down to earth & a genuine person 🫶
@antonyallen8025: Took my daughter to see the women play at SJP. There was some good play/touches/shots etc, but it’s was very infrequent and the rest was god awful
@sufamidan1006: Come on now … lets not pretend she doesn’t know exactly what shes doing.
@gameram6382: 7 days ago
I can’t watch it, I just don’t have any interest in the womans game. All my mates are the same. Men want to watch mens football. Think the womans game needs to aim at getting girls to watch it.
@mrjones1696: Alisha if you want to be idolised like Messi then you need to be as good as Messi, If you want to be paid like Messi you need to be as good as Messi. It took male footballers near a century to start to be paid what women expect today after just a few years. If you are not good enough to attract big crowds and massive sponsorship then you only need look at yourselves.
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