Simone Magill returns to Northern Ireland camp with daughter Skye ahead of World Cup play-off with Portugal

Simone Magill, the Northern Ireland captain, returned to the national team camp ahead of Friday's World Cup play-off with Portugal four months after giving birth to her daughter Skye in May. "Ultimately, I'm Skye's mum and, to me, that's the most important thing," she said.

Across a 16-year career that began with a senior debut at 15, Magill has played a leading role for Northern Ireland, helping the country reach a major tournament and later becoming captain while playing as a Birmingham City striker. She described her relationship with the game in personal terms: "Football will always be a large part of my life but it's very much what I do, not who I am."

Magill has been stepping up training since returning to camp but said the first round of play-offs came too soon for competitive selection. After conversations with manager Michael McArdle, who has spoken about the importance of family, she joined the squad to train with team-mates while Skye and her husband, Mark, stay with her in camp.

Reflecting on life in the camp, Magill said: "It's so different, but it's so special. I'm really enjoying being back in, and I think I find it weirder having my husband here than having Skye. "It's just amazing that I'm able to do this and the support that I've been given to allow me to do this has made things so much easier." She added that the Irish FA and her team-mates have provided practical support, which meant "I don't need to worry about anything".

Magill described how Skye and Mark have been integrated into daily routines: "Mark has his daddy-daughter days with her while I'm on the training pitch. "Then when I'm here with the girls in and around the hotel and free times, we're all here mingling with Skye. "She's now got 23 aunties who are all very hands-on." That arrangement allows Magill to concentrate on on-pitch work and meetings while her family are present.

Before rejoining the group she admitted to some apprehension but said she feels an obligation to help establish a pathway for others. She noted that while Sarah McFadden had returned to international football after giving birth in 2024, Magill is among the first in her squad and club to bring family into camp: "So it's the unknown of what things are going to look like," she said. "It's relatively new in the game and I suppose I'm one of the first people certainly here and at club as well to do this. "There are going to be certain things that we might need a little bit more support with, but we don't know that until we go through each phase and we're navigating that all collaboratively."

Magill outlined the timeline of her break and recovery: she announced her pregnancy last November and stopped playing matches then while continuing training and gym work until a few weeks before Skye was born. Four weeks after Skye's arrival she was back doing gym work and she returned to the pitch after 13 weeks; she is now fully training again and hopes to resume playing matches later in the autumn.

Discussing motivation, Magill said she wanted to be visible as a parent and a player: "It's funny because when I announced my pregnancy, I think the natural assumption from a lot of people in the scope of wider things thought that that was probably going to be the end of my football career. "But I was like, 'well, no, absolutely not'. "I very much wanted to be a voice and showcase that you can be a mum and a footballer, and those things can both co-exist." She is close to 100 Northern Ireland caps and is the second-highest scorer in the history of the women's team, and she described a personal goal of carrying Skye onto the pitch when she returns: "Skye will not necessarily remember any of this, but I will. "When she's older she can look back and see the hard work that I put in to come back and play, and it was all for her. "All throughout my pregnancy I was almost manifesting that moment that when I make my return and being able to carry her out onto the pitch, I think, you know, that's what's driving me."

Skye has become the newest member of the Northern Ireland camp ahead of the World Cup play-off with Portugal, and Magill remains in camp as the team prepares for Friday's match.