Toni Payne: "We're all fighting for the same things"

• Toni Payne talks Nigeria's WAFCON title defence and what it would mean to add to the Super Falcons' historic tenth trophy
• The Inter Milan midfielder reflects on the FIFPRO Women's Player Summit in Oslo, Norway, and the importance of connecting with fellow professionals from around the world
• Payne also discusses the importance of post-career planning and maternity rights in football

With the Women's Africa Cup of Nations fast approaching, Toni Payne is counting down the days. Nigeria arrive in Morocco as reigning champions, and the Super Falcons forward doesn't hide her excitement about what's coming, both for her country and for the continent.

"We know all of the amazing, talented women that have come out of Africa," Payne says. "It's amazing football to watch; I think in Africa we play such a distinct type of football. It'll be an exciting one because it's for qualifying for the World Cup."

Payne knows exactly what playing for the Super Falcons means back home, and the weight that comes with it.

"It's known that Nigeria has this reputation of being the Giants of Africa," she says. "Playing for the Super Falcons holds a lot of weight, and there’s a bit of pressure that we win the WAFCON."

Payne was part of the Nigeria side that triumphed at WAFCON two years ago.

"Winning it for that tenth time with that team was such a huge accomplishment for us," she says. "A lot of us, that was our first tournament, our first WAFCON, our first trophy. It meant so much to everyone on the team."

Women's Player Summit

Before turning her full attention to the tournament, Payne took time out to join fellow professionals from across the world at the FIFPRO Women's Player Summit in Oslo, Norway at the end of May. The gathering provides a platform for the kind of cross-border conversations that can be hard to find inside the routine of club life.

"Day to day you get kind of close in your environment with your club team, seeing the same people, having the same conversations every day," says Payne, who signed for Italian giants Inter Milan this summer. "But it’s nice to pull yourself out of it and get to know other people and their experiences, to network and see where everyone’s mind is about women’s football right now."

One theme in particular rose above the rest for Payne. "What really stood out were the conversations around post-career planning," she says. "Talking about what life looks like for all of us after football, and having conversations about the different avenues, the different ways we can figure out what we want to do, what our interests are, and how we can go about those things."

It's a topic that can feel distant when still playing at the top of your game, but Payne is clear about why it matters to raise it now, and why it matters to talk about issues that might not even touch her directly.

"It's important to talk about all the different issues going on surrounding women’s football, maybe the ones that don’t affect you directly," she says. "I know there are so many people playing at the highest level, and maybe at some of the more amateur and lower levels, but at the same time we’re all fighting for the same things, the same standards."

The maternity conversation

Alongside post-career planning, Payne singles out maternity rights in the women’s game as an important conversation.

"Everyone has a right to start a family, regardless of what you do, what your career is," she says. "It's such a hot topic right now, and we're fighting for what I think we deserve. We all have the right to do it, and it’s nice that FIFPRO is helping this conversation and putting the stipulations in place for us."