Bromley-based London City, backed by American billionaire owner and Lyon president Michele Kang, finished sixth in their maiden WSL season and are in the process of building a state-of-the-art training facility bespoke to female athletes.
At the same time, they are still looking for ways to grow their fanbase. A big name like Earps, who has joined from Paris St Germain on a two-year deal, will no doubt be a draw next season.
The wait is over. Welcome to London City, Mary Earps 🩵 pic.twitter.com/CO1jNTzAZ0
— London City Lionesses (@LC_Lionesses) June 19, 2026
Earps said: “I’ve had the privilege of playing for some giants, Manchester United, Paris St Germain, and they’re fantastic to be a part of, don’t get me wrong, but I think there is a unique opportunity with London City to have less restrictions.
“I think there’s a lot more creativity there, the potential for creativity there, because you don’t have to go through the traditional way of doing things.
“Ironically, I was on a boat shooting for London City in my first engagement for them, but I really visualise it as the difference between being part of a cruise ship, and when you need to make change or you want to do something, it takes a lot of time for that to happen with different approvals, etc.
“Totally understandable, but with London City I think there’s a unique opportunity to be more agile, more reactive, and I think in women’s football, where it’s growing so quickly and changing so quickly, that’s a really exciting prospect.”
That agility, says Earps, feels less like a turning a cruise ship and more like “a kayak or a canoe”.
Earps retired from England duty before the 2025 Women’s European Championships (John Walton/PA)
The Euro 2022 winner retired from international duty five weeks before England began their title defence last summer.
The timing, and later the fallout from her autobiography – in particular passages about current England number one keeper Hannah Hampton and head coach Sarina Wiegman – sparked considerable backlash.
Earps later spoke to the BBC, insisting she had not written the book to “tear anyone down” and felt reaction to it had been “distorted”.
And while she did not directly address her old club, Manchester United have frequently been the subject of scrutiny, particularly under the minority ownership of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, for treatment of the women’s team – criticism the club has refuted.
Earps, a self-professed “Michele Kang fangirl”, appreciates the “little bit disruptive” nature of the US billionaire’s multi-club ownership intervention into women’s football.
Earps is a self-professed Michele Kang “fangirl” (Steven Paston/PA)
She said: “It’s clear that she really wants to have great, successful teams, but equally she wants to go about things in a different way.”
The 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year is not quite ready to be thinking about hanging up her gloves entirely and believes London City have a genuine chance of getting close to the Champions League places “sometime soon”.
Earps added: “Football is a pretty great job. It’s hard at times, I’m not saying it doesn’t come without its challenges, but I want to play as long as possible until the wheels come off.”