Bunny Shaw on Manchester City’s title push, scoring goals and life off the pitch

It’s hard to imagine the Barclays Women’s Super League without Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw – but it was only in 2021 when she brought her goal-scoring prowess to Manchester City on a three-year deal. Since then, she’s broken numerous league and club records; most recently, she became the first woman in Manchester City’s professional era to score 100 goals.

She’s also a fan favourite (she’s the fifth most-selected player on the unofficial Barclays Women’s Super League fantasy game Aerial Fantasy), but despite all the attention, she’s determined to let her on-pitch performances do the talking.

“I think [the support from the fans] is great, but at the end of the day, the performances on the pitch are the most important,” she tells Stylist. “I just play football and let my numbers and how I get on on the pitch speak for themselves.”

It was only after the 2019 World Cup in France – where she formed part of the first Jamaican team to ever qualify for the competition – that she gained the confidence to pursue football at the highest level. First, she played in France. Then, Manchester City came knocking.

Five years on, Shaw is one of the driving forces behind City’s current league title run; she’s scored 13 goals this season, six more than Aston Villa’s Kirsty Hanson in second place. So it was hardly surprising that, in December, she picked up her first Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month award.

“It means a lot,” she says of the accolade. “Individual awards are good, but I think when it comes to these types of awards, it’s a team thing too. They give me the service – sometimes, I’m just in the right area.”

That might be a contender for understatement of the century: anyone who’s watched Shaw play will know that her positional awareness is second only to her power and accuracy. But it’s clear that her connection with the rest of the squad – and especially City’s No. 10 Vivianne Miedema – is a driver behind the team’s goal-scoring abilities.  

Miedema joined from Arsenal last season, but it’s only this year that the two have really been able to solidify their partnership, Shaw says.

“This season we’ve been able to get some solid minutes and games in; last season, we were both injured at different times,” she says. “Because Viv was once a striker, she knows striker tendencies. Obviously, we’re two different players, but knowing the quality Viv has, I know that once she gets on the ball, I just have to be ready. We’ve been working hard on the pitch to build that chemistry, and it’s definitely working at the minute.”

With City currently sitting nine points clear of last year’s Barclays Women’s Super League winners Chelsea, Shaw’s keen to chase as much success as possible this season. After her Player of the Month award win, we sat down with her to chat about life both on and off the pitch – including how she relaxes after a game. 

Hi Bunny! You’ve scored 13 goals in the league this season – what do you think it is about your game that makes you such a prolific goal scorer?

I always focus on the next action. I’m not going to score every chance I get, but I try to keep my head clear. When the next chance comes, I just have to do better than I did with the last one. Focusing on that and trying to be the best I can be definitely helps.

What do you think it is about the team this season that’s made you so hard to beat?

I think it’s our fluidity and our mentality to always finish the game strong: in some games, we’ve had last-minute winners. I also think the freedom to express ourselves in each and every game has made the biggest difference.

Thinking back to the beginning of your career, was there a moment when you knew you wanted to be a professional footballer?

Before the World Cup in 2019, football was just about getting a degree and going home to help my family. But when I played at the World Cup, I realised I was able to match and challenge some of the players at the highest level. That gave me the confidence to believe that I could do it at club level.  

Who was your biggest inspiration when you were younger?

When I was younger, I wasn’t really allowed to play football so I didn’t look up to any players per se, but sports-wise I would say Usain Bolt, just because of what he’s done for Jamaica. If I could take something from his performance on the track to my football, I’d say it’s his consistency – his ability to consistently dominate for a long period is inspirational.

What lessons have you learned from the players around you at Manchester City?

Always be ready and alert, because the quality that we have means anything can happen at any moment. As a striker, I get balls coming in from all different places, so I have to always focus on the next moment and be alert to what’s coming next.

Between the league and international duty, you’re very busy – how do you relax?

Luckily for me, I have a lot of family and close friends in Manchester. Spending time with them outside of football helps me to relax and take my mind off of things. 

What about after a big match – how do you unwind?

It depends on what time the match is – sometimes I don’t need to do anything but if the game is at night, your adrenaline can still be going after and you need to wind down. Normally after a game I’ll see a missed call from my mama because she calls me to chat. Spending time with family is the biggest thing that helps.

When it comes to TV shows, what are you watching?

I just finished watching His & Hers – I’m getting everyone on the team on it, and a few of the other girls have watched it already. I love short mystery movies and series.

And how about music – is there anything you have on repeat right now?

I’m a dancehall and reggae girl for the most part. There aren’t a lot of artists I listen to on repeat, but I love Masicka, Vybz Kartel, Shenseea and 450. And for reggae, I like my Bob Marley and Chronixx – I’ve been on Chronixx for a while now.

You’ve broken out some iconic celebrations over the course of your time in the Women’s Super League – are they pre-planned or a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing?

Most of them are spur-of-the-moment; a minority are planned in advance. The Haaland one was definitely in the moment – it just came to me. Sometimes I feel like I’m going to get a goal that day, and I’m like, ‘OK, if this happens, then maybe I’ll do this,’ but I don’t sit around and think on a Wednesday afternoon that when Sunday comes around, I’m going to do this specific celebration – I don’t practice it.

Finally, if you weren’t playing football, what would you be doing?

Something with shoes – my dad’s a shoemaker, and I was around him a lot when I was younger, so probably something to do with fixing shoes or making shoes. Maybe owning a shoe store. 

Images: WSL; Getty