For rising star Maddison Millington-Stanbury, football is much more than just a game. The 20 year-old goalkeeper, formerly at Arsenal and Watford is currently practicing her trade with FA Women’s National League South side Oxford United Women. She views the game as an outlet for helping her regulate her emotions.
The shot stopper, who started her career at Southampton, was diagnosed with autism whilst part of the Arsenal youth team. She recently spoke to Arsenal-based fanzine, the Online Gooner, about this and participated in a video for the FA Women’s National League. She has been very open about the positive impact football has on helping her to manage her thoughts.
“Football relaxes me. It’s the one place I can clear my mind and not have to worry about anything else.”
Millington-Stanbury’s career has seen her gain invaluable experience from her time at Arsenal. She achieved memorable career highs like winning the FIFA Youth Cup in Switzerland, also earning a call up to the England under 17s. However, she has always remained humble about her opportunities with the Lionesses youth setup.
“I always appreciated being part of that team and valued each time I went, as it’s never promised.”
The life of a footballer is never easy and can be littered with drawbacks and unpredictable problems such as severe injuries. This doesn’t affect the young goalkeeper, who is driven by a resilient and caring nature, describing how she views these issues:
“Any setbacks are tough but you can flip it and take positives from it.”
The importance of a good support system within any club is imperative and Oxford United do not shy away from this. The club is known for being highly supportive of all their players and Millington-Stanbury knows that the staff do some stellar work to ensure this is the case.
“We have Shelly, our player care lead, she’s been great to have chats with if needed.”
This refers to defender Shelly Provan, who took on an extra role as the Player Care Lead at Oxford United in September 2025. This is testament to not only how much Oxford United care for their players from an external perspective, but how supportive the team is of each other internally.
Millington-Stanbury has been very open about being neurodivergent with her teammates, as a result of having this support system around her and she is pleased she was able to share it with the team, underlining her thoughts surrounding players sharing being neurodivergent,
“I think it’s so very important for more players to be open about neurodiverse conditions.”
Manchester United and Wales goalkeeper Safia Middleton-Patel is another example of a player who has opened up about her own diagnosis, talking about it in June last year. Milllington-Stanbury was able to draw multiple comparisons to this.
“When Safia Middleton-Patel spoke out about her autism it really hit home as there were so many similarities between us both, like using Lego to regulate ourselves.”
Finally, football being for everyone is a message that has been widespread for many years and Millington-Stanbury wholeheartedly agrees, feeling that having autism shouldn’t be a barrier for young players in achieving their dreams and can be really beneficial to help them develop and progress in their careers.
“Be open with your coaches and teammates, as sharing the way autism impacts you is really important for you to be yourself.”
Maddison’s journey so far has been spectacular to follow and her story is inspirational. Her outlook on playing sport with a neurodivergent condition is refreshing and she has a really strong mentality, making her an influential individual on and off the pitch.
