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BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMaddy Cusack always loved football.<\/p>\n Her sister Olivia remembers how she’d often rope her siblings in for a kickabout, using them for target practice. <\/p>\n It is a memory that comes back to her as she stands in the park in Derby where Maddy loved to train. <\/p>\n “It’s a sacred place for us really,” says Olivia Cusack. “Because it holds so much love and a lot of memories.”<\/p>\n Maddy went on to play for Sheffield United Women from 2019 and became the first player to represent the club 100 times.<\/p>\n A vigil later on Friday will mark one year since the day Maddy was found dead at her home, aged 27.<\/p>\n Her family said her spirit had “been broken” by the sport she loved.<\/p>\n Maddy’s club was cleared of any wrongdoing by an external investigation, and a Football Association (FA) inquiry launched in January is ongoing. <\/p>\n An inquest to establish the circumstances around Maddy’s death has been adjourned until the FA reaches its conclusions. <\/p>\n While her family continues to wait for answers, they are turning their attention to her legacy. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n “It’s been a year since we lost Maddy,” says Olivia. “A year since our lives completely got turned upside down.<\/p>\n “I have to trust that she can see what we’re doing and is proud.<\/p>\n “That’s the main motivation.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maddy’s family has previously spoken about her facing financial pressures and balancing a full-time marketing job<\/a> in Sheffield United’s offices with her role in the squad. <\/p>\n The FA hasn’t said exactly what it\u2019s looking into, but wanted to assess whether it needed to take any action<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We asked for a thorough investigation,” says Olivia. <\/p>\n “That’s definitely what they’ve done as it’s been a while now.<\/p>\n “I hope the FA do the right thing. <\/p>\n “It’s important we don’t skim over what happened.”<\/p>\n Regardless of the outcome, the 25-year-old says there’s no way things can stay the same in women’s football. <\/p>\n “I’d like to think that after what’s happened to my sister, there’s no way there can’t be any change. <\/p>\n “Maddy ultimately lost her life and her spirit to football and it’s important that nobody else goes through that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Maddy’s family has launched a foundation in her name to support women and girls in football and hopes to be a voice for them too.<\/p>\n “You can’t bury your head in the sand,” says Olivia. <\/p>\n “You need to stand up for these girls and stand up for Maddy ultimately as well.<\/p>\n “We just really wanted to find what was missing and give these girls a voice.”<\/p>\n They recently hit a \u00a350,000 milestone, something Olivia says she “never even dreamed of”.<\/p>\n “It made me really proud,” she says. <\/p>\n “I thought, we could really change the game here and change young girls’ lives.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some of the money raised goes towards supporting girls like eight-year-old Nevaeh, who idolised Maddy.<\/p>\n Nevaeh’s mum, Beth, tells Newsbeat the love started when she was assigned the same number football shirt.<\/p>\n “She’d see Maddy play and say, ‘Mum that’s me – I’m number eight, I’m going to be like Maddy’.”<\/p>\n Last year, Nevaeh was a mascot for Sheffield United and chose to walk out with Maddy, which Beth says helped to “grow her love of football”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When Maddy died, Beth says Nevaeh “took it really hard” and, in December, the foundation offered to pay for her to have new boots – something the family had done for Maddy every Christmas. <\/p>\n Since then it has also sponsored her kit. <\/p>\n “She was very touched by that,” Beth says.<\/p>\n “We always get in touch with the family because she likes to tell them how many goals she’s scored for Maddy.”<\/p>\n Although Nevaeh is sometimes the only girl on the pitch, she is generally supported and encouraged in the sport, says Beth.<\/p>\n But she knows that might not always be the case, and that is why the work of the foundation is so important. <\/p>\n “[Girls] need to know that support is available for them,” she says. <\/p>\n “I just hope Nevaeh’s journey through football, however long it is, continues to be positive.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Olivia says her sister was “loved and adored and an inspiration to so many”.<\/p>\n “My main focus with the foundation is to carry that on for as long as I can and to bring her to life for as long as I can as well.”<\/p>\n There will be a vigil for Maddy later and she will also be remembered at a match between Sheffield United and Derby County – the club Maddy supported – on Saturday. <\/p>\n “She would’ve been there for sure,” Olivia says of her big sister. “With a beaming smile.”<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Sheffield United told Newsbeat they were pleased to mark the anniversary with the match. <\/p>\n “The thoughts of everyone associated with Sheffield United Football Club remain with the Cusack family, as well as Maddy\u2019s friends, colleagues and team-mates,” they added.<\/p>\n The FA said it would not be appropriate to comment while it was still investigating. <\/p>\n If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available <\/i>via BBC Action Line. <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n‘I’m going to be like Maddy’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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