Chloe Kelly opens up on ‘fat clubs’ in women’s football and reveals impact on former teammates | OneFootball

Chloe Kelly has opened up about the damaging ‘fat clubs’ culture in women’s football and its impact on former teammates.

While Kelly herself says she has not struggled with body image, she revealed that the mental health of some teammates has been negatively affected by body image pressures.

She is not the first to address this issue. Former England international Fara Williams revealed that some Women’s Super League clubs previously shamed players by placing them in so-called ‘fat clubs.’

Chloe Kelly reveals ‘fat clubs’ have affected former teammates

England women’s football star Chloe Kelly has admitted she has witnessed ‘fat clubs’ at previous teams.

As per Hayters, she said: “I’ve never felt in a place where body image is something that I think about too much. But seeing previous teammates at clubs being in something called a ‘fat club’. I think that is really, as a woman, disappointing.

“I’ve definitely been in teams where there’s been a fat club and it’s sad. Seeing your friends go from one extreme to the other – I’ve seen my friends and my teammates lose so much weight and be so unhappy and obsessed. And I think that really does affect your mental health.

“And for me, I think I could have done more [to help]. But actually, it’s from the outside and not knowing what’s right.”

Kelly joined Arsenal permanently in the summer from Manchester City, after a loan spell last season following a spat with former manager Gareth Taylor.

She played a huge part in helping England defend their European Championship trophy at Euro 2025.

Her performances have made her favourite to win the Sports Personality of the Year award and she finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

‘Fat clubs’ in football

Fara Williams has spoken out on numerous occasions about body image pressures in women’s football.

‘Fat clubs’ has been a phrase used in the women’s game, with players being shamed into losing weight, which has also been linked to eating disorders among players.

She told the Daily Mail in 2022: “It’s not right that we just talk about being a certain body fat percentage, that’s not educating people. Or you get a fat test every time you go into camp and if you’re not under a certain body percentage you go into “fat club”.

“To label something ‘fat club’ as a professional is crazy. I was never in fat club, I would never go, I would just not play the game. It was a term openly used at big clubs in the WSL.

“It’s something I spoke about for years with managers at top level because I’ve always disagreed with how the body fat percentage has been used, especially with women.”

Then speaking as part of a Lidl GB panel ahead of Euro 2025 as per LBC, she revealed the concept of ‘body fat boards’ which ‘felt like shaming’.

She said: “We did a lot on body fat, a lot of weighing when we were players – having your name and body fat up on the wall, with 23 other female athletes alongside you.

“You feel a little bit of embarrassment that everybody else can see that you weigh a little bit heavier.”