Maddy Cusack’s household name for repair for ‘damaged’ ladies’s soccer

The Cusack family have spent the last 12 months learning to live a life completely different to how they could ever have imagined.

Their eldest daughter Madeleine, known as Maddy, was the vice-captain of Sheffield United Women and their first player to reach 100 appearances.

On September 20, 2023, at the age of 27, she took her own life.

Cusack’s story is tragic and one that has transcended women’s football. In the midst of dealing with their grief, her family has waited patiently for answers.

The Football Association’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death started in January and is still on-going.

In a cafe in Sheffield, just under five miles from where Maddy used to run out every other weekend at Bramall Lane, her mother, Deborah and sister, Olivia, have sat down to speak with Mail Sport.

In an hour-long conversation we talk about what Maddy was like on and off the pitch and the success of the charitable foundation that has been set up in her name. But there are also difficult conversations and that is where we must start.

Because a year on from her passing, both Deborah and Olivia fear that what happened to Maddy could happen again.

‘If things don’t change, there will be another Madeleine,’ Deborah says.

‘It might not be this year, it might not be next year but there will be another Madeleine. That’s wrong, that’s not ok and people should be desperate to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

‘This is one of the worst tragedies to happen in women’s football, it doesn’t get any worse than this. I just think that people should be knocking at my door, asking me what went wrong, asking me what can be changed and what they can do moving forwards. As people that have lived it, I think our experience is very valuable.

Cusack’s passing led many in the women’s game to speak out about the importance of player welfare. Her former Sheffield United manager, Carla Ward, said mental health provision was something that was not taken seriously enough in the women’s game while others have called the system ‘broken’.

‘I think a big thing in women’s football, having lived through it with Maddy, girls are hesitant to speak out and address how they’re feeling within organisations because of the backlash they may face from that,’ Olivia says.

‘Nobody should want this to happen again. It can’t happen again to somebody else and we don’t want anyone else to lose a family member in this way and it should be prevented. I don’t understand why no one else feels the urgency to do that.’

Too many players, Maddy’s family feel, are scared to open up in fear it will hamper their career.

‘If you speak out you’re often perceived to be a troublemaker or potential troublemaker,’ Deborah adds. ‘These girls aren’t on loads of money, they are where they are.

‘When Maddy was part-time she was on £6,000 per year. She’d train two or three times a week and play Sunday. When they went full-time, she was on £18,500, which is not minimum wage. But you’re expected to train, behave and perform like an elite athlete. The disparity is ridiculous because who can live on £18,000 a year, so most people have to get a second job to supplement that so they’re working two jobs, you’re travelling at the weekend.

‘A lot of them just get on with it but you shouldn’t have to do that.’ Alongside her football career, Maddy worked part-time for Sheffield United as a marketing executive.

Her family would be open to discussing how they could potentially help and stop other players going down the same route, but conversations from those who work in the game have not been forthcoming.

‘Lots of pressure groups within the women’s game haven’t been very interested, they’ve not really come to us and asked us what’s gone wrong, what we think needs changing. I think that’s perhaps because people don’t really want to criticise the women’s game because of the way it’s portrayed. What’s happened should be the catalyst for criticism, the catalyst for change, for a better future.’ 

The FA has introduced measures around mental health which are understood to have been an on-going and long-term process, including a mandate for every club to have a full-time equivalent designated safeguarding and welfare officer. They have also introduced an Unacceptable Behaviour policy for all clubs to follow while players have access to mental health and well-being support and a helpline where players can report any grievances. Clubs are also required to share a well-being and mental health strategy.

Deborah and Olivia describe Maddy as someone who was fiercely competitive in everything she did. As well as playing football, she played quick cricket for her county, competed in the 200 meters and long jump for Amber Valley and was also an accomplished horse rider. In Maddy’s case, taking part was not the most important thing.

‘She had to win everything, even monopoly!’ Deborah says. ‘She re-took her Maths exam four times to get an A*, that’s what she was like.’ Only ballet lessons did not last. ‘Her Nan got her to try it, she was dreadful!’

It is those memories of Maddy that her family are desperate to keep alive. The family set up the MC8 Foundation (eight was the number Maddy wore at Sheffield United) a month after her death with the aim of helping young girls get into football.

‘It was important for us to keep Maddy’s memory alive and help young girls get into football like Maddy did,’ Olivia says.

‘It was inspired by us meeting a little girl called Maddison at a vigil. She explained that she’d found it difficult to get into football and she struck up quite a relationship with Maddy and she helped her get into a team. That’s where the Foundation started and since then we’ve achieved so much.’

There has been a series of fundraising events in the last 10 months, with many more planned, and over £50,000 has been raised. In February, Maddy’s friends and family walked 40 miles from Derby County’s Pride Park Stadium to Bramall Lane. Maddy grew up as a Derby supporter. Her brother, Richard, and Deborah are regulars at home and away games.

It is coincidence that Derby play the Blades at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon and that the Women’s Super League season starts on Friday. Our conversation moves on to whether any clubs have planned tributes to mark the one-year anniversary of Maddy’s passing.

The family will hold a vigil at Bramall Lane on Friday night, which they requested through a friend at Sheffield United, rather than the club directly.

‘Derby fans have arranged to applaud in the eighth minute,’ Deborah says. ‘Richard and I will be in the away end.

‘I assume Sheffield United are not doing anything. The most recent women’s match at Bramall Lane, they had a little bit about her in the digital programme. I can only assume, having not heard, that they’re not doing anything.’

It is as Deborah finishes this sentence that Olivia receives a message from a local reporter who had asked Sheffield United what they would be doing to mark the anniversary of Maddy’s passing.

Olivia reads out the club’s response: ‘The plans include: a series of social posts starting on Thursday on various club channels. Hosting a vigil at Bramall Lane requested by the Cusack family, invited members of the Cusack family to Saturday’s game, a page in Saturday’s programme dedicated to Maddy, big screen imagery and tribute from the stadium announcer pre-match on Saturday, encourage supporters of both teams to applaud on eight minutes, encourage supporters at the women’s team fixture at Newcastle United to applaud on eight minutes.’

To say this is a shock to them both is an understatement. Deborah momentarily gets emotional and questions why she was not consulted.

‘I’m in the away end, I’m going because this is what Richard and I do and I’m going because the last time Madeleine played there I’ve got memories of her coming down the steps…’ As her voice trails off, Deborah takes a couple of seconds to compose her emotions.

‘I’m going because I want to witness the Derby County fans clapping because she deserves that, I want to be there to clap. I’m not going there to see her on the screen, I wouldn’t have known she was going to appear, that will floor me and that is not right. Madeleine is mine, she belongs to me, she doesn’t belong to them.’

The family also say the club has not made a donation to the Foundation.

Mail Sport contacted Sheffield United for comment about their lack of communication with the family. A club spokesperson said: ‘The thoughts of everyone associated with Sheffield United Football Club remain with the Cusack family, as well as Maddy’s friends, colleagues and team-mates.

‘We are pleased to be asked to host a vigil for Maddy and in the closest fixture to the anniversary of her passing – on Saturday 21st September against Derby County, the club Maddy supported – a number of initiatives are planned to supplement those that have taken place in the last 12 months.’

There are plenty of people who have supported the charity and the family have been overwhelmed by the number of strangers who have reached out with stories of how Maddy made an impact on their lives.

‘I’ve found it really comforting. I didn’t realise how much of a role model she was, to us she was just Maddy. Seeing how many people have reached out to us and expressed how much she meant to them, it shows us how important the Foundation is and why there’s a need for it. I wanted her presence to be felt and I wanted her to be heard as well. Maddy’s not here, she can’t say what she wants to say now, but we can do that through the Foundation.

‘It is difficult because, on one hand you’re trying to grieve for yourself but on the other hand you feel you’ve got a responsibility because you want to try and preserve her name. But I do find it comforting. She worked so hard to get to where she got to, a lot of hours, a lot of dedication. She did achieve her goal of playing professionally. That makes me happy knowing she achieved her goal.’

An inquest into Cusack’s death was opened at Derby’s Coroner’s Court in October last year and adjourned. It is not expected to take place until the FA completes their investigation.

The whole Cusack family has worked hard to ensure Maddy’s legacy will not be forgotten. A year on from her passing, they hope her story is one that will not be repeated.

Click here to donate to the Maddy Cusack Foundation, which is looking to help create opportunities for young girls and women, that  encourage them to participate in the sport of amateur football that is in a supportive environment.