At just 23, Mai Moncaster has already experienced a lot in football that many would envy — from grassroots beginnings and youth development at Leicester City to making her mark at Nottingham Forest and now stepping into a new chapter with Rugby Borough.
Not only having an impact on the pitch for Rugby Borough, Moncaster is helping shape the next generation of talent as a coach within the club’s ATC girls programme. With her UEFA B license on the horizon and silverware still to play for I caught up with her to talk about her footballing journey so far, life at Rugby Borough, and her aspirations for the future.
Stuart: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Mai: I am 23 years old. I was born in Peterborough, but I have lived in Lincolnshire throughout my childhood. When I was 18, I studied Sports Science and Coaching at Nottingham Trent University, where I spent 5 years living in Nottingham.
Growing up, I never really supported a football team. But after having spent a number of years in Nottingham, represented the club on the pitch, but also worked for the Community Trust, I have supported Nottingham Forest since moving there.
Now, I am playing for Rugby Borough Women, working as a coach on their ATC girls programme, as well as currently working towards completing my UEFA B license.
How would you describe your playing style?
My preferred position on the pitch is anywhere across the forward line, creating some goalscoring opportunities for the team. Throughout the first stages of my senior career, I played in central midfield as more of a box to box midfielder with lots of energy. For the last 3-4 years, I have been playing out wide in more the 7 or 11 roles, and since then, I have never looked back.
More recently at Rugby Borough, Lee Burch has been playing me in the number 9 central forward role. It has been a great opportunity for me to be able to learn a new role and adapt. I really enjoy playing further up the field and being able to have lots of opportunity to get the ball into the box, or have shots for myself.
Who inspired you the most in football?
I am a very family-oriented person, so I would say my biggest inspiration is my family. My older brother was once a good footballer and I used to go and watch him on Saturdays and Sundays. I would say this is how my love for football started. I would play outside the front of my house with my friends and always try to beat the boys to the ball. I joined a local grassroots team and scored 30+ goals in my first season playing for a team. I begged my dad to take me to Leicester City CofE trials, and from then on, football has been a big part of my life and that of my family. I have to thank them for always allowing me to chase my dream and encouraging me to the position I am in today.
You came through the ranks at Leicester City during your formative years. How crucial was that period in shaping you as a player, and what key lessons did you take away from your time there?
Playing for Leicester City in my childhood and the start of my senior career was massive in shaping who I am today. Studying for my GCSEs and A Level equivalent whilst playing for LCFC encouraged me to be very adaptable. I had to balance out my education alongside my playing career. It taught me how to prioritise what was important, stay focused under pressure and push through mental and physical challenges.
As a young adult, my family and I had to make lots of sacrifices. I missed out on things that my friends and family would be doing, my parents drove me across the country to play, and ensured work was done weeks ahead so I could go to training. All of these experiences allowed me to be disciplined, resilient, and better at managing pressure.
You recently moved from Nottingham Forest to Rugby Borough. With Forest on the rise, what attracted you to make the switch to Boro?
After spending 4+ years at Nottingham Forest, I think my time at the club naturally came to an end. After what was a stressful off-season, I signed for Rugby Borough at the start of this season. Rugby Borough train in the daytime, mirroring a full-time outfit training hours. We train four times per week, including three gym sessions which was massive in making my decision to sign for the club. My personal aim is to play at a full-time level, and this was the perfect fit to help make that happen.
After having conversations with Lee and Sian, I could see they were big on opportunities to help with my development. They were committed to player growth through specific IDP work, providing a platform to enhance my career.
How has this move impacted you personally?
After making the decision to sign for Rugby Borough, I had to leave my full-time role at Nottingham Forest Community Trust. Having the opportunity to play full-time football was a no-brainer for me and at Rugby, they have supported me with this move. I now live in a player house with some of the other players. This has provided me with a supportive environment where we are there for each other, we understand the demands of the sport offering a sense of mutual encouragement. I am grateful to Lee and the other staff for giving me this opportunity.
Can you describe the impact Lee Burch has had on your game this season?
Lee Burch has a fantastic history in women’s football. He has worked at previous clubs, including Millwall, London Bees when they were in the FA Women’s Championship, and Yeovil Town who were competing in the Women’s Super League at the time. He possesses a great deal of experience coaching in the Women’s game, so I had great confidence that Lee would be able to teach me a thing or two!
Lee creates a great sense of team unity at Rugby which has made me feel very comfortable since joining the club. Lee has also given me the opportunity to play in different roles across the pitch, teaching and encouraging new things within these roles and has allowed me to express myself on the field.
Looking back at the season so far, what’s been your personal highlight?
My personal highlight of the season so far is scoring my first senior hat trick. Having more goal-scoring opportunities and being consistent with it is a target I had set for myself at the start of the season. I am super delighted to always help contribute to goals, but to score my first senior hat trick was a great achievement for me and I hope I can continue this into the last few weeks of the season and into next.
Your Adobe Women’s FA Cup journey ended with a home tie against Liverpool. What are your standout memories from that experience?
I think one of the standout memories from the home time against Liverpool was the performance on the day from the girls. We held off a top WSL side right until the end, unfortunately losing 2-0. Everyone gave it their best efforts and it showed on the day. I felt a great sense of pride after that game not only of the girls, but proud of the whole club, from staff to volunteers. It was amazing to have so many fans down at the game, they supported us right until the very end.
Did that FA Cup run help bring the local community closer to the club and expand your fan base?
Another standout memory from the FA Cup game was having a sell-out crowd down at Rugby Borough FC. The fans really helped us to push as a team and we heard them all the way through. It was a great opportunity to bring the community of Rugby together and we hope that they enjoyed the game. It has been nice to see fans returning week in and week out to our games and the support from the fan base means more than they know to us as players. We hope to inspire the younger generation to be in our shoes one day taking our places at Rugby Borough FC.
Rugby Borough are currently fifth in the division, competing against clubs with Premier League and Championship-level backing. How proud are you of this achievement, given the disparity in potential resources?
Understandably from the outside, people see Rugby Borough as not affiliated with a men’s club. However, we know what he have down here as Rugby and with the environment we have created, we know we can be up there and competing with the top-end teams who are backed by their respective men’s teams. We have had results this season that we have been disappointed with, but have given us the learning experiences ready for next season.
In all honesty, we are a little disappointed with our place in the league table, as we know we are capable of being better. We know what we need to do for next season and we are ready to take these learnings from this one.
Against the teams above you, you’ve been highly competitive. What do you think needs to change for Boro to break into the top group and push for the title?
Previously, Rugby competed in the National League South, where this season we are playing in the North. This season has been a great learning curve for everyone at Rugby and now we know the league a little more, we are fully ready to push on for next season. We know we are good enough to compete at the top end of the league as we have taken points off every team in the league this season. It is important we keep pushing, working hard and learning along the way. To win the league with only one promotion spot, the biggest thing is being consistent and taking each game as it comes.
You must have a lot of friends still at Nottingham Forest. How excited are you at the prospect of seeing the like of Lynsey Harkin line up in the Barclays Championship?
Nottingham Forest has been back by the men’s side and should be promoted this season. It will be nice to see some friends over at Forest being promoted after the hard work over the last few seasons. Lynno is Forest through and through so it will be great for her to be promoted with the club her and her family adore. The proof for me is in the pudding. Newcastle United heavily invested in their women’s team last season. Forest have done it this season, and both teams should be in the Championship next year. Women’s football is growing and if owners decide to invest heavily, they will get the rewards.
At the start of the season, did you or the club set specific goals? Do you feel you’ve met or even exceeded expectations?
At the start of this season, I did set some personal goals on and off the field. I feel it was important for me to be realistic in these goals but also set ones that will encourage me to push myself in season. I feel I am on track to accomplishing these, but also with a couple of games left of the season, hopefully they will be very much achievable.
As a team, we did set some goals. We wanted to be very much in the title race, pushing for promotion into the Barclays Women’s Championship. Although our goal of promotion wasn’t achieved this season, we have taken lessons from every match we have played in and these will put us in a great position for next season to push for what we want to achieve as a team. We take pride in the fact that we have taken points off of every team in our league this season and it gives us confidence going into next season.
You’re still in the hunt for silverware, with a Birmingham FA County Cup final against West Bromwich Albion coming up. Is this match at the forefront of the squad’s mind?
The Cup Final against West Bromwich Albion is something we are very excited for as a team. You could say it is definitely in the back of the squad’s mind. But we have a very good mindset of taking each game as it comes and one step at a time.
We have a couple of league games left ahead of our Cup Final Fixture, so our priority is putting in a good training week ahead of the next fixture. We have to ensure that we are putting in good performances over the next couple of weeks, that will put us in a great place ahead of the final against a good WBA team.
You recently lost 1-0 to West Bromwich Albion. How do you think that result will impact the upcoming final?
We have played West Brom twice this season, winning one at the start and losing 1-0 towards the end of the season. Upon reflection of the game, we were disappointed with this result and we know that we needed to be better. We identified our areas for improvement and we feel like this has given us the fuel to go out and be better in the Cup Final.
We will take the lessons from both of our previous encounters in the season and take these into the next game. Being in a Cup Final midweek under the lights is going to be a special occasion and we will prepare for this fixture putting ourselves in the best place possible to go and win the game.
With the season coming to a close, have you started thinking about your summer plans? How do you switch off and recharge from football?
It has been what feels like a long season, but it has also gone super fast at the same time. I am ensuring I remain focused for these final few weeks as important work still needs to be done. However, plans for the off-season will probably include booking a few holidays or breaks with friends and family. I spend time with those I don’t get to see often and catch up with people. I will also be including our off-season training programme given by the club to make sure I can stay fit and healthy over the offseason and put myself in the best place coming into July.
Finally, if you could change one thing in women’s football, what would it be and why?
If I could change one thing about Women’s football, it would probably be having more than one promotion spot. After being in the FA WNL for all of my senior career now, I have seen the growth of many different teams and I think that this league is tough to get out of with only one team going up.
There has to be a fine margin for error in order to get promoted, but with a couple more promotion spots, I think it will make the league much more competitive and can maybe add in a few twists and turns within the teams.
