Leyland star Liv Cooke shares her 2023 wins, dreams for the following year and reflections on the past

Leyland born freestyle football world champion Liv Cooke sat down for an end of year chat with celebrity reporter Aimee Seddon, see what she had to say below:

What is Liv most proud of in 2023?

Liv, 24, answered that she is most proud of “the new challenges” she has taken on, referring to her property development career which has taken off over the past four years.

She explained: "I've been in the freestyle football world for many years and when you become accomplished in that field and become one of the best at what you do - well the best, world champion - your identity kind of forms around that and it's hard to step away and do other things. I think the way that I've done that and put pride aside and started at the bottom in some new fields, has been pretty cool. Also with doing that, the funds that I've been able to raise in order to do things like give back to the community is something I'm very proud of.”

Aside from property development, Liv also achieved her seventh world record this year for the “most sit-down alternating football crossovers in 30 seconds (female)”.

Liv commented: “It was awesome. I've not been competing in freestyle super actively since I won in 2017 but for me, it's important to still remain the best and I do believe that I'm still the best freestyler in the world, six years on. So I like to go back and break the world record and compete in that way, just to remind myself and everyone else, that I still hold that title.”

2023 also saw the England women’s football team excel in the World Cup and although they did not win in the end, Liv says seeing the nation's support for women's football grow was another high for her.

Liv, who used to play with lionesses Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway and Keira Welsh at Blackburn Rovers, said: “I've been a UEFA women's football ambassador for over five years and it's been amazing to see the journey of the sport. Even seeing the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to push the women's game is just amazing. I've seen people slave away for years, creating campaigns that can give these female footballers this platform to showcase their talents, their hard work and inspire young girls. It's been like a conveyor belt- the bigger platform we could give them, the more people got inspired, the more people went to watch them, the more money went into the game, the bigger the platform, and so on. It's just been beautiful to see."

How has Liv been putting funds back into the community?

The former Woodlea Junior School and Balshaw's CE High School pupil answered: “I'm not one to be flaunting my charitable work around, I think that's like using it to your advantage. That's not what I do at all, a lot of what I do will be like putting funds back into creating 1000s of footballs and donating them to children that don't have much. I’m going to be going across to some poorer countries as well and shipping footballs to arrive before myself. That's just something that is really important to me, giving children the opportunity to learn freestyle and play some football because what it's done for me and my life, the lessons it's taught me, are priceless and the joy it can bring to them is incomprehensible.”

Any other goals for the new year?

Liv replied: “I'm still very passionate about making football and freestyle accessible to anyone, I don't think financial situations should stop somebody being able to enjoy such a beautiful sport. The cost of going to football training and hiring football pitches is still ridiculous in this country and it's something that I'm looking to tackle, and that I've been tackling in the football pitches we built in Bamber Bridge, that 2.6 million pound development.

"Of course, things like that take years so the results aren't going to be showing every single month but that's still a big goal of mine and something I'm working towards."

Liv added that one of "the quickest ways to help combat that issue is to develop more facilities" and she is in talks to revamp basketball courts and football courts in and around Leyland, hoping to build more multi-purpose sites.

Let’s take it way back, how did Liv get into freestyle in the first place?

Liv, who now lives in Cheshire, said: “It's got to go back to my brother's really. From as early as I can remember, there was always a football around the house at my feet and they were always playing football."

The Manchester United season ticket holder continued: "It wasn't until I was 14/15 that I started to get into the trick side of football like when I was at tournaments, playing for Preston North End, I was always on the side in between the games, practising tricks. I just had this passion for skills. Then when I had a back injury at Blackburn Rovers Academy, I was out for seven months and I couldn't really do any exercise but what I could do was sit down on the ground, and practice keeping the ball up that way. So unbeknown to me, that was the start of my freestyle journey and while I was out injured, I learned that trick then I wanted to learn the next trick and the next. By the time I was ready to go back to football, I had discovered this online world of freestyle."

Liv tried to do both sports for a while, but the extra pressure double training put on her was causing her to pick up minor injuries and she knew she had to make a decision.

Liv said: "I realised that if I want to be the best freestyler in the world, or if I want to play for England, then I can't be doing both. It wasn't an easy decision by any means but I just asked myself, if I had a day off tomorrow, what would I rather do? Play football or freestyle? And my answer, as I sat in my kitchen in Leyland was, ‘I want to freestyle’. So that was it for me and I never looked back.”

And does Liv visit Leyland still?

The social media star, who has 2.1 million Instagram followers and 5.5 million TikTok followers, replied: “Yeah, of course my family still lives there and I'm very close to my family. I try and see them whenever I'm back in town so I'm a still a frequent Leyland visitor!”

What are her favorite things to do in Leyland?

Liv answered: “Going to the studio! Gym Etc was the studio that I trained in for six/seven years, before becoming world champion, I was in that studio every single day for at least five hours a day, without fail. I like to go back there - one because it's a great gym… but two just to reminisce. That's where I achieved my dream.

"It's nice to go back and just remember how much work I actually put in because it's easy to forget. To the young kids now, I make it look easy, but they don't know them days I was in there all morning till night.”

Aside from the gym, Liv says her other favourite place to visit in Leyland is Worden Park where she used to walks her dogs, enjoy Bonfire Night and the annual Leyland Festival.

Does Liv have fond memories of going to school in Leyland?

She said: “Balshaw’s High School was very, very good to me. Even after I left, they facilitated what I needed at the time. So if I needed the football pitch for whatever reason, then they were very, very helpful with that. I do go back sometimes, like I did my book launch there, I've given footballs away there, I’ve sponsored the girls football kit. Balshaw’s very close to my heart and I think the school is amazing. The staff are great, especially the PE teacher, Mrs. Lupton. She was cranky at the time, but she played a big role in my life.

"I just got this energy, like she believed in me, she knew that I was going to go on and win that World Championships and I felt that. Teachers often don't get the praise they deserve, like the impact they have on young people's lives is massively underrated. So when there's a good teacher, they do need to be praised, they need to be shouted about because we need more of them. They are almost raising and forming the next generation.”

And finally, any tips for young girls?

Liv said: “Don't be afraid to try something new. When I was playing football, and I wanted to go into freestyle, it was unheard of. No one was making a career from this space, it was barely even a sport that people knew on the street. Now, everyone knows freestyle football, footballers are trying to do freestyle so it is a huge thing but back then no one knew it. People laughed and joked about it, they said I was obsessed, and that it was ridiculous. But now looking back, I got the last laugh. So if you're scared of stepping out of the ordinary, don't be because it does pay off and as long as you put the work in, you're going to be successful. Anything's possible, I'm not special or naturally talented, I've just worked very hard. I found something I loved and went all into it, and it's paid off for me so it can pay off for you.”