Bolton News: Grace Vella has joined Bolton Wanderers Women after building Miss Kick into a clothing and sportswear brand for women and girls. The new signing also brings a record off the pitch that began after she was released at 18.
Vella said she wanted to create something that gave girls representation and inspiration. She told Radio Merseyside, “I wanted to create something that inspired girls and gave them that representation, and a brand they could look towards if they were a female in sport.”
Grace Vella and Bolton Wanderers Women
Vella’s move adds a player who had earlier spells with Liverpool and Manchester City as a youngster before going on to play for Wigan Athletic and Chorley. Bolton Wanderers Women announced the signing on June 20, 2026, giving the club a player whose career has run alongside her work building Miss Kick.
She said, “I grew up playing football and was lucky enough to play for Liverpool and Manchester City in my youth.” After that, she said, “I got released when I was 18 and was heartbroken really. I found myself at university and wanting to get back into the football space.”
Miss Kick in 2018
Vella set up Miss Kick in 2018. She said, “I literally set the brand up on my mum’s kitchen table. I bought a heat press, some T-shirts and I used to just print slogans.”
She said she travelled “up and down the country” selling the shirts to raise awareness for girls who play football. Miss Kick products have since been sold around the globe, and the brand later expanded into a football team based in California in 2022 for the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
The Miss Kick Foundation
Three years after 2018, Vella launched the Miss Kick Foundation as a charity focused on empowering women and girls in football and providing equal opportunities. The foundation has also been recognised at the Women’s Football Awards, while Katie McCabe has backed Miss Kick.
The path from a kitchen-table start to a senior signing gives Bolton Wanderers Women a player shaped by both sides of the game. For Vella, the next step is not just turning out for the team but balancing that role with the work she has already built around Miss Kick and the Miss Kick Foundation.
