MOLLY DARLINGTON

WHEN MOLLY Darlington drives home from Stoke City on a wet Tuesday night she is living her dream. With a love for football going back to childhood and a passion for photography nurtured through school and university, she now works as a Canon professional football photographer for Reuters – and she’s still only in her early 20s. Dreams are rarely fulfilled in a lifetime, let alone for one so young, but this daughter of Cheshire has her feet planted firmly on the pitch and her eyes on the prize. By earning her place on the touchline alongside more seasoned pros in a male-dominated environment, some might say Molly is already at the top of her game. However, the truth is that she has barely begun, and there are plenty more goals to be scored. But even in this surreal season of empty stands, she remains focused on the next match…

When did you first become hooked on photography?

I studied photography at GCSE, A Level and Degree level. I first thought I wanted to make a career out of photography when I was studying for my A Levels. There was a local advertisement at college for a photographer at my local non-league football team 1874 Northwich Football Club. I saw it and thought I’d check it out and that’s where my love for sports photography began. My first proper camera was a Canon EOS 1200D and I had two lenses, a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. I’ve always had an interest in sports, my twin brother and I have grown up loving football and playing football at the park.