EXCLUSIVE Karen Carney said it was a honour to chat with Lily Parr – an icon of the women’s game who had been brought back to life through the power of AI
Karen Carney has admitted it was an honour to chat with one of the pioneers of the women’s game.
Lily Parr was a footballing icon – scoring an estimated 960 goals across her glistening career, more than Cristiano Ronaldo – as she blazed a path for other women to follow.
“She was such an iconic superstar, and not a lot of people know her journey,” Carney exclusively told Daily Star Sport . “So for me to be able to hear it and feel it in the way that she would have said it: that was really special.”
Carney was able to interview Parr using innovative AI technology as part of Three’s #WeSeeYou Network with Chelsea FC Women.
Parr explains her story to Carney – talking about her journey from the factories of Preston to touring the USA, all while finding the back of her net with her thunderous left foot.
Advanced motion technology combined with old photos and footage revealed her facial features in high resolution before experts fed AI technology information about her from archives and those who knew her.
Parr’s actor was then cast before an ultra-realistic AI face-swap added the finishing touches.
Carney added: “Actually it was weird, in one of the bits I said thank you to her – but it wasn’t her.
“I was saying thank you for all of the work that she has done and what a trailblazer she has been!”
Parr’s career was one of battling against adversity as women’s football was banned by The FA in 1921 as “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”
Carney continued: “It was nice to be able to tell her story, because there are elements I wasn’t aware about!
“I knew who she was; I knew her team; I knew she scored lots of goals – but I didn’t realise it was 960 odd in her career.
“She alleged broke a goalkeepers arm when he said that she couldn’t play and he was a male professional. It was an honour to be part of it and I wish I could have met her in person.”
Parr passed away in 1973, two years after the FA lifted their ban on the women’s game.
“I always want to champion the women’s game – I’ve been involved in it since I was eight,” Carney continued.
“And I always say I’ve signed up to women’s football for the rest of my life…probably as she did too! So it was an honour to be a part of it and it was an honour to interview her in this format.
“The only regret is I can’t thank her in person – but this was the next best thing!”
To watch Lily Parr in conversation with Karen Carney , visit Three UK’s YouTube channel.
For more information on Three’s #WeSeeYou Network and how to get involved please visit https://weseeyounetwork.co.uk/