Faye White

Faye White MBE

Faye White at the Emirates Stadium, London, August 2006
Personal information
Full name Faye Deborah White[1]
Date of birth (1978-02-02) 2 February 1978
Place of birth Horley,[2] England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[3]
Playing position Defender
Youth career
Horsham Ladies
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2013 Arsenal Ladies 300 (22)
2007 Ottawa Fury (loan) [4] 8 (1)
National team‡
1997–2012 England 90 (12)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:39, 7 March 2011 (GMT).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 9 July 2011

Faye Deborah White, MBE (born 2 February 1978) is a former English footballer who captained Arsenal Ladies in the FA Women's Super League and was the longest serving captain of England to date, overtaking the 26 year old record previously held by Carol Thomas. One of the most recognised and respected players in the women’s game, Faye was a commanding presence at the heart of the Arsenal and England teams from the late 1990s until her retirement in 2013.[5] Faye was recognised for services to Sport in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2007, being appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)[6] In recognition of her achievements she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2015.[7]

Club career

Her football journey began when, aged ten, she joined in the training sessions of her brother’s team Horley Town. After three years of playing with her brother and his team-mates Faye decided to go to an all-girls coaching session and it was here that her path to the Arsenal Ladies team began, as she met Jim Muir, the coach of a local girls’ side Horsham Ladies. Faye very quickly worked her way into the reserves and became a first-team player aged just 14. It was while at Horsham, still aged just 16, that White became the first female player outside of the top flight to be called up for the national team by Ted Copeland[8]

In the 1996–97 season Faye signed for Vic Akers and Arsenal Ladies, it didn’t take her long to make another big impact, earning her first international cap vs Scotland.[9] White broke into the first team, cementing a position at the heart of Arsenal's central defence. She collected her first trophy that year, the FA Women's Premier League.

In 1997–98, due to White's performances in north London she was named the Premier League Player of the Year. Arsenal won the FA Women's Cup and Premier League Cup.

Faye achieved major success despite suffering numerous injuries including two cruciate ligament injuries, which kept her out of the game she loved for 9 months each time. During her prolific career White amassed a collection of 31 major trophies at club competition level, winning the inaugural FA Women's Super League in 2011, the FA Women's Premier League 10 times (including seven consecutive years from 2003–04 to 2009–10), the FA Women's Cup nine times and the League Cup six times. Remarkably, all these trophies were achieved with one club.

Whilst club captain, Arsenal won "The Quadruple" (UEFA Women's Cup, Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup), two "trebles" (all three major domestic competitions) and four "doubles" (League title & FA Cup). The UEFA Women's Cup victory in 2007 remains the only victory by an English team since the tournament's inception.

International career

White made her England début against Scotland in 1997, aged 19, followed by her full début against France in 1998 when she was named player of the match. White went on to represent her country in her first major tournament at UEFA Euro 2001 in Germany.

In 2002, she was named by Hope Powell as England captain against Nigeria,[10] during the qualification campaign for FIFA World Cup in USA. White was to keep the armband until her international retirement in 2012.[10]

She led the Lionesses at UEFA Euro 2005 in England, 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China, UEFA Euro 2009 in Finland and 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.

At the Quarter Final stage of the 2007 World Cup vs USA in Tianjin, White's nose was broken by an elbow from Abby Wambach ten minutes before half time. White played the remaining duration of the game with the injury, making several vital headed clearances, however was unable to prevent a World Cup exit to the top ranked national team in the world.[11]

In 2009, White, in her third major championship finals as captain, led England to the final of Euro 2009 in Helsinki, Finland, where the team lost out to reigning World and European Champions, Germany. She wore a protective face mask in the final after breaking her cheekbone in the quarter-final win over Finland in Turku, just six days after having surgery.[12]

In the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Quarter Final penalty shoot-out versus France at the BayArena, Leverkusen, White missed England's fifth penalty, seeing the French win 4–3 and progress to the Semi-Finals.

White was one of the first female players to be given a central contract by The Football Association[13] and also served as an ambassador for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

In April 2012, just prior to the announcement of the Great Britain squad for the upcoming Olympic tournament, White, while still recovering from knee surgery, announced her pregnancy and made the decision to retire from international football.[14][15]

International goals

Scores and results list England's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored
1 21 April 1998 The Hawthorns, West Bromwich  Italy 1–2 Friendly 1
2 14 May 1998 Boundary Park, Oldham  Norway 1–2 1999 FIFA World Cup Qual. 1
4 14 November 2003 Deepdale, Preston  Scotland 5–0 Friendly 2
5 6 March 2008 Mourneview Park, Lurgan  Northern Ireland 2–0 2009 UEFA Championship Qual. 1
6 8 May 2008 Darida, Minsk  Belarus 6–1 2009 UEFA Championship Qual. 1
7 11 February 2009 Larnaca  Finland 4–1 Friendly 1
8 31 August 2009 Veritas Stadion, Turku  Sweden 1–1 2009 UEFA Championship 1
9 25 October 2009 Bloomfield Road, Blackpool  Malta 8–0 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 1
10 1 March 2010 GSP Stadium, Nicosia  Italy 3–2 Cyprus Cup 1
11 20 May 2010 Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali  Malta 4–0 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 1
12 19 June 2010 Aranda de Duero  Spain 2–2 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 1

Honours

International - England

2009.

Domestic - Arsenal LFC

2006–07.
2011
1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10.
1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11.
1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2008–09
1999-00, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2005–06.
1997–98.

Retirement and reaction

In April 2012, White announced that she was expecting her first child and thus, her international retirement.

"Faye has been a tremendous player and leader for me ever since she made her debut and I have personally thanked her for 15 years of unwavering service in an England shirt. She is one of the best defenders in the women's game and an outstanding ambassador and role model." - Hope Powell CBE, England Head Coach, 1998-2013.[18]

In March 2013, Faye announced her retirement from her playing career after 17 years as a professional.[5]

“She was a born leader. She had a great attitude and was, and still is, a great role model for the women's game. I think we'll have to go a long way to find another player similar to her. She was one of my best signings ever. She captained the team magnificently and always showed great attitude." - Vic Akers OBE, Honorary President Arsenal Ladies.[19]

"I never thought that I would win so much. I captained England and Arsenal for over 10 years and that's brilliant. I look back and think I've done a lot and I've won a lot. I have to be thankful for that. I've won a lot and I'm really fortunate to have done that and played for so many years at such a wonderful club. I think it's a great Club and that's why I never moved. I had offers in previous years, certainly around the time the American league started up. I knew Arsenal was a great place and really looked after the girls and did a lot for women's football in this country. As the England captain, I wanted to play the game in this country rather than abroad. To spend my career at one club is pretty good. We've been so successful over the years and have won a lot of trophies. I feel fortunate to have been a part of that. I won pretty much everything there was to win..." - Faye White MBE.[19]

Media work

Faye maintains her commitment to promoting women's football and development of the game via her extensive media work, appearing regularly as co-commentator and studio pundit on television and radio for the BBC, BT Sport, SKY Sports, FATV, ESPN, Eurosport and Radio 5 Live.[20]

Non-playing career

White was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Hertfordshire in November 2013.[21]

White acted as the Ambassador for the 2012-13 UEFA Women's Champions League Final in London.[22] Faye is also an ambassador for the Football Foundation, the UK's largest sporting charity.[23]

She is the Marketing Officer for Arsenal LFC in the FA WSL[24] and a qualified sports massage therapist.

Personal life

White was born and grew up in Horley, Surrey and attended Horley Infants School, Yattendon Middle School and Oakwood School, Horley.[2]

She attended Reigate College,[2] and later returned to open the new sports centre in 2010.

She has two sons, Lukas, born in 2012 and Jake, born in 2016.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Faye White". UEFA. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 "My Best Teacher". Times Educational Supplement. 21 May 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  3. ↑ "Fury defence adds Gunner". Slam Sports. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110928103400/http://www.ottawafury.com/fullstory.php?id=523. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Faye White: Ex-England and Arsenal captain retires". 20 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  6. ↑ Faye White earns MBE in Honours List. Arsenal.com. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Ex-England captain Faye White to be inducted into National Football Museum. Sky Sports.com. 03 April 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Dan Pope. "Faye White - from the playground to the World Cup". Club Newsletter. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Dan Pope. "Faye White – from the playground to the World Cup". Club Newsletter. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  10. 1 2 FA profile of Faye White The FA. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  11. ↑ Wambach foul on Faye White Youtube.com. 27 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Faye White to play against Germany in face-mask". The Telegraph. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "England Women awarded contracts". BBC Sport. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  14. ↑ "London 2012 Olympics: England captain Faye White to miss Olympics due to pregnancy". Daily Telegraph. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Pregnant England captain Faye White quits internationals". BBC News. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  16. ↑ Solid England shut out holders. FIFA.com. 14 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. ↑ Powell delighted, Dennerby pleased. UEFA.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  18. ↑ "Arsenal and England captain White expecting baby". UEFA. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  19. 1 2 'I never thought I would win so much' Arsenal.com. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "Faye White profile". Ottawa Fury. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  21. ↑ Faye White receives Honorary Award She Kicks 25 November 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  22. ↑ Ambassador: Faye White UEFA.com. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Meet Our Ambassadors Football Foundation. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  24. ↑ Faye White Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Faye White Has First Child". She Kicks. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
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