“As a mother you try to give your child the best you can,” says the Hednesford Town forward Hazzana Parnell before the tier five side’s Women’s FA Cup second-round match against fourth-tier Sporting Khalsa on Sunday. “The ball will be on the line and I’ll lay it back for her, as if saying: ‘Go on, you have it.’”
This isn’t like letting your kid beat you at Uno, or half-hearted efforts to save the ball when standing in goal at the local park. This is a mother, Parnell, 38, and her daughter, 16-year-old Remaya Osbourne, playing on the same team in the FA Cup, fulfilling a dream many footballers probably have when they hold their newborn in their arms, and that so few have achieved, in men’s and women’s football.
Parnell went to trials with Aston Villa at 11, getting through before switching to Birmingham City after a game against the Blues, where she stayed until she was 17. She then played for teams such as Fulham, Charlton, Nottingham Forest and West Brom, including under managers such as Keith Boanas and Matt Beard, and represented England Under-19s.
Her career was interrupted by the birth of Remaya. “I had Remaya, took a time out, away from football, and never thought I’d go back into it,” she says. “I just stumbled back into the game. I suppose you can never really get rid of it; it’s in your heart for ever. I used to take her along to games. It’s just amazing to see her on the pitch with me. It’s a bit surreal.”
The pair are strikers and have found themselves on the scoresheet together. Parnell also provided an assist for her daughter’s goal in Hednesford’s FA Cup second round qualifying match against Bromsgrove Sporting. The team have also beaten Hereford and SJR Worksop to reach this stage.
“We’re both just so connected,” Osbourne says. “I see her visions and she can see mine.”
Parnell had retired when the call came from her former teammate Laura Hodgkiss, who manages Hednesford’s women’s team alongside her partner, Jared, a former professional footballer, asking whether she would come and at least train with the team.
“It gave me that little buzz back,” she says. “So, I was playing there, Remaya turned 16 and came along to training and Laura was like: ‘Remaya, you’re signing.’”
Most drift a little from their parents in their teensbut football being a family affair is all Osbourne has known: her dad, Isaac Osbourne, and uncle Isaiah Osbourne played professionally and her cousins play. “I’ve always just grown up with the sport,” she says. “I used to enjoy going to my dad’s games when I was younger and mum used to take me along to her training sessions and matches and I just enjoyed it.
“The first team that I played for my dad joined in with the training and every team after that he’s kind of helped with the training. There’s always been a family member there, so I couldn’t really escape them – even if I wanted to.”
The accessibility of the game to young girls and women now is hugely rewarding for Parnell. “I struggled,” she says. “My brother used to play for Derby and I used to beg the coach to let me join in. For the last 10 minutes at the end of training he’s like: ‘Come on then.’ It was so difficult finding other groups of girls that played football but Remaya just grew up in it. It’s nice to see that I’ve been able to make a contribution to the pathway that’s created for her to be able to access now.”
Osbourne has ambitions of a career in the game but Parnell says: “I’d never put that pressure on her. I just want her to create a path for herself and enjoy her journey that she’s on. If Remaya ever turns around to me and says she’s not enjoying football and doesn’t want to do it, then I’ll support her. Her happiness is what comes first.”
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She sees the potential in her daughter. “I’d love for her to go on and pursue it and achieve way more than I did,” she says. “You’ve just got to be passionate and Remaya is passionate. If Remaya puts her head down and if this is what she wants to do she’ll definitely go far in the game.”
Osbourne feels “very confident” going into the game against Sporting Khalsa. “This is the first time we’ve reached this level – there’s no pressure,” she says. “We just need to play for the club and whatever we achieve is what we achieve. If we don’t win or get any further, we’ve still done great.”
Parnell knows she won’t play much longer. Osbourne is “going to miss her” when she does step back. “At home it gives us something else to talk about,” Osbourne says. “We’ve actually gotten closer and I see myself spending more time with her and I love it.”
Her mother is soaking up the moments. “I assisted her with two and then she went on and scored her hat-trick and the depth of my scream was loud and big,” she says. “It’s just such joy to see her be able to perform the way she is.”
