New Wanderers Women signing Grace Vella has had a fascinating journey in the women’s game, both on and off the pitch.
The midfielder had spells with Liverpool and Manchester City as a youngster but was released at the age of 18.
Vella has also played for the likes of Wigan Athletic and Chorley, but arguably her biggest impact has been off the pitch.
She set up Miss Kick in 2018, initially as a clothing and sportswear brand for women and girls who love playing football.
Since then, the brand has seen enormous growth and its products have been sold all around the globe.
Footballer. Founder. Wanderer. 🤍
We're delighted to welcome Miss Kick founder Grace Vella to Bolton Wanderers Women.#bwfc pic.twitter.com/0iQ9Ym723L— Bolton Wanderers Women (@OfficialBWFCW) June 20, 2026
Three years later, Vella launched the Miss Kick Foundation – a charity dedicated to empowering women and girls in football and providing equal opportunities.
If all that wasn’t enough, Miss Kick launched a football team based in California in 2022 to play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
“I grew up playing football and was lucky enough to play for Liverpool and Manchester City in my youth,” Vella told BBC Radio Merseyside .
“I got released when I was 18 and was heartbroken really. I found myself at university and wanting to get back into the football space.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t any brands, products, even on TV I couldn’t watch any women play football.
“I wanted to create something that inspired girls and gave them that representation, and a brand they could look towards if they were a female in sport.
“I literally set the brand up on my mum’s kitchen table. I bought a heat press, some T-shirts and I used to just print slogans.
“I travelled up and down the country selling these T-shirts just trying to raise awareness for girls who play football and just inspire them. The brand has really grown and the response has been incredible.”
Miss Kick Foundation has been recognised at the Women’s Football Awards and the brand has been backed by players at the highest level, including Chelsea defender Katie McCabe.
“The day I launched Miss Kick, it was at my dad’s football tournament in Skelmersdale. I was extremely nervous and didn’t know how it was going to go,” Vella, who has a degree in psychology, added.
“I stood there with my pop-up stall and watched all these girls turn up. On that day we sold over 170 T-shirts and I thought, ‘Wow, I’m onto something here. This could go all the way’.
“That gave me the confidence to not look back and keep going. I have always been a really ambitious person.
“We have obviously had our ups and down, but I have always believed in it and always pushed myself to do the best I can do.”
The charity aspect was always important to Vella, who is determined to help the women’s game keep growing.
“Miss Kick Foundation was always something that I wanted to do from the start. When I was just selling T-shirts out of my mum and dad’s house, I was always giving a percentage of that to the local community and giving back into grassroots,” she said in an interview with FA Women’s National League last year.
“Even though I wanted to build a business, giving back and creating a vehicle to do that was something that was really important to me.
“The Foundation launched in 2021 and for us, it’s about giving girls – both on and off the pitch – and opportunity to get involved in the game. It is important to me that we grow the charity as well as the brand.”
Vella had a break from football while developing the brand but decided to return to the pitch in the summer of 2024, re-joining Chorley.
However, injury struck when she suffered a ruptured ACL against Doncaster, which meant a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
“Balancing being a footballer and running a business is difficult. I had a bit of a break a few years ago, just while the brand was growing,” Vella recalled.
“I got back into the game because I’m not going to be able to play football forever. When I’m older, I don’t want to look back and think, ‘I wish I would have just gone and tried’.
“We were playing Doncaster just before Christmas and I sadly ruptured my ACL. It was a challenge, going through the emotions of having the injury.”
Now, the midfielder links up with Tom Cunniff’s squad as Bolton aim to build on a third-place finish in their first season in tier five.
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