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A perfect match: football and motherhood

Dagný Brynjarsdóttir is an Icelandic professional footballer who has made an impact both as a player and a new mother at West Ham, writes Piper Bradford-Reynolds 

Dagný Brynjarsdóttir
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, www.whufc.com

Dagný Brynjarsdóttir is an Icelandic professional footballer who has made an impact both as a player and a new mother at West Ham. 

She plays as a midfielder and wears the number 10 for West Ham United women. Since signing in the 20/21 season, she has made 65 appearances across all competitions and scored 17 goals. 

Ahead of the 22/23 season, manager at the time, Paul Konchesky named her as the club’s captain. This season also saw her become the top scorer with 11 goals in 28 appearances and the supporters Player of the Year. 

During the summer, Brynjarsdóttir announced she would be missing the upcoming season due to pregnancy. While away from main training, she still maintained her fitness by taking part in moderate training supported by the club. 

In March 2024, West Ham released an original documentary, Ómarsson, which followed Dagný’s pregnancy and in which she discussed the challenges for female athletes when starting a family. Both she and teammate Katrina Gorry expressed the importance of club support during pregnancy, and they felt West Ham couldn’t have been better. After giving birth to her second child in early 2024, Dagný was named in the match day squad for the last game of the season. 

She recently signed a one year contract extension.


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