Aston Villa's Maz Pacheco talks FIFA23 and the WSL at the Women's Football Summit.

When choosing a stat that could indicate a player’s importance to their team, the number of minutes played is a wise place to start. Aston Villa’s Maz Pacheco was one of only six players to have played every single minute of the Women’s Super League last season. The left back also ranked within the top ten for the number of interceptions, blocks and tackles won signifying her premium status in Villa’s system. The 24-year-old looks to be aiming for similar impact this time round to help the Villans climb to the middle of the table.

We caught up with Pacheco at the Women’s Football Summit presented by EA Sports to celebrate the launch of the Women’s Super League in FIFA23 and to chat about the new season. Here’s what she had to say…

Feelings on the way Villa have started the season….

“Ecstatic. I think it’s very different from last season. We’ve got quality players starting to play a bit more football, I feel like we’re growing something special and I feel like you guys can see that.”

Whether the league is becoming more competitive…

“Yeah, definitely. I think with the investment that clubs are putting in, the league’s only going to grow and it means more people are wanting to come and play here in England. So, competition ‘s very high.”

Maz Pacheco at the Women's Football Summit

New eyes and new audiences…

“I think from the Lionesses winning the Euro’s the interest in England especially has been massive and you can feel it when we’re playing. The rise in ticket sales and people coming to watch us and events like this just help push the visibility of the women’s game.”

Playing FIFA23…

“I love FIFA!”

Playing as herself on Fifa…

“Not yet! You know it’s weird seeing yourself! Doing the face scans was one thing but then seeing yourself in the game is….”I’m like, it that really me!?” But yeah, they’ve done well with me.”

Favourite dinosaur…

“Favourite dinosaur….T-Rex. Big boss. Can’t go wrong.”

Pacheco is back in action this weekend as Aston Villa take on Chelsea at Kingsmeadow. The game will be available to watch live on the FA Player, 2pm (GMT).