British freestyle footballer Liv Cooke is a reigning world champion and holds six current world records. In addition, she has served as a BBC Sport presenter for the popular show ‘MOTDx’ and as a UEFA ambassador. Her accolades include being recognized as a Parliamentary Rising Star and Woman of the Future.
Early Life & Education
From a young age, Liv Cooke was drawn to football and began playing alongside her two older brothers, Jack and Sam. She joined Preston North End F.C. when she was 10 years old and also played for the Woodlea Junior School team.
Later, she attended Balshaw’s Church of England High School where she served as captain of the girls’ football team. At 14, Cooke signed with the Blackburn Rovers F.C. Center of Excellence.
After a year, Cooke’s back injury resurfaced and prevented her from playing football. During this time, she stumbled upon freestyle football videos on the internet. She started practicing the fundamentals in her backyard and gave up playing traditional football in 2015 to concentrate on freestyle.
Liv Cooke was 17 when she left Runshaw College before she finished school to go after her dream of being a professional football freestyler in 2016.
Liv Cooke’s Career
Liv Cooke made her debut as a freestyle performer in 2015 at St Andrews Infant School in Leyland, Lancashire. Shortly after, she showcased her skills at a professional event during a halftime show for Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
Since then, Cooke has gained recognition as the world’s youngest professional football freestyler, entertaining audiences worldwide and collaborating with prominent companies.
She has a diverse resume, having participated in various events such as Qatar’s national sports day, serving as an ambassador for the UEFA ‘We Play Strong’ campaign to encourage girls to play football, and traveling to Australia to motivate kids to engage in physical activities.
Professionally, Liv Cooke has been featured in a Channel 4 television advertisement, multiple Adidas commercials, and a LIDL advertisement. She has also made appearances on a variety of television programs, including Match of the Day, Soccer AM, and BBC and Fox Soccer News.
In August 2016, Cooke entered her first competitive freestyle event in London at the Red Bull Street Style World Finals, achieving 6th place and being the youngest qualifier.
She also earned a spot at the 2016 World Football Freestyle Championships in Melbourne, where she placed second and became the youngest finalist in the event’s history.
After sustaining a foot injury during the final, Cooke was unable to compete for several months. However, she resumed training in April 2017 and went on to qualify for the 2017 Super Ball open football freestyle championships in Prague by August of that year.
Despite facing tough opponents, she emerged victorious in all of her battles and made history as the youngest person to ever be crowned world football freestyle champion.
Liv Cooke’s involvement with UEFA Women’s Football began in 2018, when she was appointed as an ambassador and introduced her social media series, Play Anywhere. The following year, she expanded her role by becoming a global ambassador for UEFA Euro 2020.
In September 2019, Cooke joined BBC Sport as a presenter, taking on the role of hosting the new MOTDx program and presenting segments on Match of the Day.
Cooke was forced to withdraw from the Soccer Aid team in September 2021 after testing positive for Covid-19. At that time, Cooke was recognized as the top-earning female athlete and creator on TikTok.
The following month, Cooke made an appearance on the CBBC program Saturday Mash Up, where she was drenched in 20 buckets of slime after losing a vote to singer Nathan Evans.
Liv Cooke was chosen to represent the Boston Red Sox as a Wild Card contestant in the 2022 Home Run Derby X, which will take place in London, Seoul, and New Mexico.
Later that year in August, Cooke joined a lineup of fellow athletes and celebrities for the Sport Relief All-Star Games, which aired after the 2022 Commonwealth Games ended in Birmingham.
Net Worth
Liv Cooke has not disclosed her exact net worth, but according to online speculations, she may possibly be net worth more than £10 million. Considering the luxurious lifestyle she leads, these estimates appear to be quite plausible. Liv’s impressive fleet of cars is the subject of envy, and she frequently posts photos of her stunning vehicles on Instagram.
