Susan Melody Lopez MBE (born 1 September 1945)[1] is an English former footballer who played as a left winger.
A leading advocate of the women's game in England, Lopez has also worked as a coach, administrator and writer since her retirement from playing.
[8] In 2005, the Southampton men's team were relegated and scrapped their women's setup to save money, making Lopez redundant in the process.
[9] Lopez was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to women's football in the 2000 Birthday Honours.
[13] In 2020, Lopez became the first women to publicly state that she believed her dementia diagnosis was as a direct result of heading footballs throughout her career.
This has been a hot topic of debate in recent years since Jeff Astle's family campaigned for research into links between heading and a possible increase in the risk of being diagnosed with dementia later on in life.