There’s nothing that excites a fanbase as much as watching one of their own succeed for the club they love. It’s why the growth of the Fulham academy over the past two decades has the potential to be such a boon for the Whites. For writers like me, when you watch someone come all the way through the age group sides into the first team, it is hard not to be overcome with emotion. You want the likes of Ryan Sessegnon, Marcus Bettinelli, Fabio Carvalho, Luke Harris and Luc de Fougerolles to do well because you have an appreciation of the sacrifices that they’ve made as they have blossomed from promising schoolboys into terrific talent.

This afternoon, in a crunch League Cup quarter final against Dulwich Hamlet, a lifelong Fulham fan will reach a massive milestone. Mary Southgate is so matter of fact and modest, she’ll eschew any fanfare, praise or celebrations and even downplay the fact that she has racked up 150 appearances for the club she first came to watch as a young girl. As captain of a women’s side that is seeking to do more than just win matches, but grow the game for women and young girls and take Fulham Women eventually back to the top tier they bestrode when bankrolled by Mohamed Al-Fayed’s millions, Southgate has always sought to put the collective first – just as she does in her day job as head of physical education at a London secondary school.

Southgate’s story is inspiring but to tell it fully this correspondent has to declare a significant interest. I first met Mary when she was very young and attending games with her family in the Hammersmith End as she still does today. Her compassionate shone through even then when she helped me to my seat without missing a beat after I had fallen down and injured myself on the concourse behind the stand. Inspired by seeing Rachel Yankey star as Britain’s first professional footballer with Fulham’s full-time Ladies side, Southgate joined Fulham’s centre of excellence at the age of seven.

She worked hard on her skills and was one of those infuriating sportswomen – good at absolutely everything, including cricket, boxing and tennis – playing for her university and rejoining Fulham after stints with Brighton, Horsham Sparrows and Crawley Wasps. A commanding, and yet cultured centre half, Southgate threw herself into a coaching role with Fulham’s Foundation and continues to make a massive difference in education, both as a popular teacher, and inspiring the next generation as easily the most recognisable of the Fulham Women first-team squad. Southgate’s commitment is replicated by a remarkable set of team-mates who have kicked on since the club’s academy reabsorbed the women’s side from the foundation and are pushing for promotion from the London and South East Regional Premier Division.

Her passion for Fulham and female empowerment shines through consistently. A vocal leader on and off the field, she’s become one of the most consistent centre backs in the division, comfortable on the ball, and comparable to the likes of Tim Ream and Tom Cairney, whose contributions to a players’ fund have helped the Women’s set-up grow substantially in recent years – with developments including specially-designed kit, an increase in the regularity of training sessions at Motspur Park, the appointment of a full-time head coach and – most notably – the staging of the first women’s fixtures back at Craven Cottage since Yankey and her professional team-mates played there more than two decades ago. An indication of how highly regarded Southgate is at the club is that her shirt takes pride of place in the home dressing room during the official tours of Fulham’s historic home.

It isn’t just window dressing. The Whites have an illustrious history in the women’s game, dating back beyond Al-Fayed’s audacious bid to fund a professional side after he watched the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the United States to the unlikely success of the Friends of Fulham in the FA Cup. Southgate’s dedication matches the motivation of those pioneers in Fulham’s story and the sacrifices she makes to ensure she’s at the top of her game are far more significant than those endured by the male academy players I mentioned earlier given that, like every other female player, she battles to find the time for football alongside job and family commitments.

Female footballers, coaches and pundits do still sadly also have to sidestep sexism on social media but Southgate has always seen her platform as a positive: embracing the chance to be a role model by interacting with the fans, young and old, who have flocked to follow Fulham’s women since matches were reopened to supporters following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Fulham’s fabulous women’s team couldn’t have a better leader than Southgate, who will take this landmark in his stride – focused as she is on stopping a former team-mate in Summer Roberts and a dangerous Dulwich side this afternoon. Her longevity is well worth celebrating, however, as characters like Maz are exactly what makes Fulham such a special club.