Leah Williamson

Leah Williamson
OBE
Williamson with England in 2022
Personal information
Full name Leah Cathrine Williamson[1]
Date of birth (1997-03-29) 29 March 1997 (age 27)[2]
Place of birth Milton Keynes, England
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder, centre back
Team information
Current team
Arsenal
Number 6
Youth career
2003–2006 Rushden & Diamonds
2006–2013 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Arsenal 145 (8)
International career
2010–2011 England U15 1 (0)
2012–2013 England U17 16 (2)
2014–2016 England U19 15 (6)
2014 England U20 3 (0)
2014–2018 England U23 6 (0)
2018– England 46 (4)
2021– Great Britain 3 (0)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  England
UEFA Women's Championship
Winner 2022 England
UEFA–CONMEBOL Finalissima
Winner 2023 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 June 2024

Leah Cathrine Williamson OBE (born 29 March 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Arsenal and captains the England women's national team. A versatile player, she plays in central defence or the midfield. She has spent her entire senior domestic career at Arsenal. She also represented Great Britain at the Olympics in 2021. Williamson captained England to their first UEFA European Championship victory, and the women's team's first international title, in 2022, for which she was named in the Team of the Tournament.

After being part of Arsenal's youth programme from the age of nine, Williamson debuted for the senior team as a teenager at the end of their 2014 Champions League campaign; she started for them in the League Cup final that year, in which she had individual success.[3] With Arsenal, Williamson has won the League once and the FA Cup and League Cup twice each. She has captained Arsenal on various occasions and reached 200 appearances for them in December 2022.[4]

Williamson represented England for all their age-group teams before making her senior debut in 2018, for 2019 FIFA World Cup qualifying. She was used sparsely in her first years with England, then became a regular under manager Sarina Wiegman, who also made her permanent captain in 2022.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Leah Williamson-UEFA.com". Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ List of Players – England" (PDF). FIFA. 27 May 2019. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Leah Williamson reflects on 200 appearances". Arsenal. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. ^ Burhan, Asif. "Leah Williamson Confirmed As New Permanent Captain Of England Women's Soccer Team". Forbes. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Tom (30 December 2022). "Leah Williamson: From gamble as captain to face of women's football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 January 2023.