Accessible player profiles for She Can Kick It Kindle edition

If you bought the Kindle version of She Can Kick It and use a screen reader, the player profiles may not have been accessible. Here are the player profiles in full, in a screen reader-friendly format.

Profile: Lily Parr

Lily Parr stood out as the biggest star of the Dick, Kerr Ladies (and probably the best player of her generation). She was also a goal scoring machine. Born in St Helens, England in 1905, Lily was only 15 when she began to stand out and was a player often picked out by the media for her “skilful and clever style”. Lily scored with alarming regularity and totalled around 1000 goals during her 30-year career. In 2002, she was the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame and in 2019, a statue of her was unveiled at the museum.

Profile: Flo Bilton

Born in 1921, during her association with football, Flo was a goalkeeper, a coach, an administrator, and a support to many young women and girls playing football in the Hull area of England. In 1963, she started a team at the Reckitt & Colman factory where she worked. The team played their first game against the neighbouring Smith & Nephew factory team and won 2-1. Flo played as their veteran goalkeeper.   Flo took on numerous roles at the WFA, helping in any way to improve the standards and opportunities for women playing football. Amongst many other things, Flo sewed international caps for the England players, so they didn’t miss out on this rite of international passage — although they only got one or two because making a cap for every player for every game was a bit much, even for Flo. She was also instrumental in organising football in Hull, helping local players like Carol Thomas to progress into the England team. This is how Carol described her to me:   “Hull was the birthplace of the indomitable Flo Bilton, a force of nature.  Even though women were banned from playing on FA-affiliated pitches, Flo had already set up the Hull Women’s Football League with about 8/9 teams.  She also became a member of the Women’s Football Association committee.  Becoming the England team chaperone, amongst other roles. She was very influential in my life, keeping me grounded and helping me with travel and the rest. I owe her so much. “   In 2018, Flo was posthumously honoured with a commemorative plaque in her hometown of Hull to recognise and celebrate her achievements in football.

Profiles: Sheila Parker and Margaret McAulay, the captains

Sheila Parker was England’s captain for the first official England v Scotland game. Made captain by then manager Eric Worthington, she began her football career with the mighty Dick, Kerr Ladies. The Lancashire defender played under four different England managers in the four years she was captain. She continued her international career until May 1983, when she retired, having played 33 games for her country. Her domestic career was even more impressive. She won the WFA Cup with Fodens of Sandbach, Cheshire, in 1974 before moving to Preston North End in 1975. During that season, she scored 51 goals in 14 games. Understandably, this goal tally helped Preston win the Division One league title. She won more league and cup titles with Preston before moving to St. Helens.   Sheila played and managed her home team, Chorley Ladies FC, before having one last crack at the big time. In 1989, she moved to Wigan Ladies FC, won two league titles, and promotion to Division One in 1990 with them. Sheila retired from playing football at the age of 46 after 34 years as a player. Then, she qualified as a referee. In 2013, she was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame, having won six Division One titles and five League Cups.  

Margaret McAulay was the first official captain of Scotland in the 1972 game against England. At 21, she was one of the older players in the team but was surprised to learn she was captain. She met the current Glasgow Rangers women’s squad in 2023 and was asked about that first international game, saying,   “It was a day where the park was hard, it was slippy, we didn’t even know the team until we were almost walking onto the park. They named the team, the goalkeeper number one, I normally played as six, so when it came to six and they went past it, I thought I guess I’m not good enough, and then 10 was Margaret McAulay. I was overjoyed sitting there, but the biggest shock of all was when they named the captain, and it was Margaret McAulay. I was flabbergasted, there is nothing bigger than being captain of your Scotland team.”   Playing as an inside-left for the team, she was described as a brilliant midfielder who loved to score. Margaret played over 20 times for her country and captained her club, Westthorn United. During her time there, the team won the Scottish Women’s Cup and the Scottish Women’s League Cup and reached the Women’s FA Cup final.

Profile: Michelle Akers

Michelle Akers was the first modern superstar of women’s football. Born in 1966, the physical and aggressive forward played her college football (soccer) with the University of Central Florida between 1985 and 1988. She became their all-time leading goal scorer with 52 goals and recorded 30 assists. During this time, the U.S. women’s national team played their first international match against Italy at the 1985 Mundialito. Michelle was part of the squad but couldn’t play the first game because of an ankle injury. She made up for lost time in the second match and scored the United States Women’s National Team’s (USWNT) first international goal, against Denmark. She continued to score for the USWNT over the next 15 years and finished with 107 goals from 155 matches. At the time of writing, she is still sixth on the USWNT all-time goalscorer list. In 2002, she was named FIFA Female Player of the Century alongside China’s Sun Wen. In 2004, Pelé named Michelle Akers on his list of 125 greatest living players as part of FIFA’s 100th anniversary celebrations. She was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.  

Profile: Sun Wen

Sun Wen is China’s greatest footballer and one of the greatest players in history. Born in 1973, Sun Wen began playing about ten years later, inspired by her father who played recreational football and took her to watch men’s league matches in China. In 1989, she began her senior career as a forward playing for Shanghai in the Chinese women’s league. During over 650 appearances, she scored 164 goals. In 1990, Sun Wen made her debut for China. During her career, she represented her country in four FIFA Women’s World Cups and was always there when her country needed a goal: she scored 106 goals in 152 international games. She was also an assist queen. She captained her country in the watershed 1999 World Cup final against the United States, where China lost on penalties. Despite the disappointment of losing, Sun Wen had something to celebrate as she won a rare double by picking up both the Golden Ball (best player) and the Golden Boot (with seven goals) awards at the tournament. Following a silver medal with China at the 1996 Olympics and a second place at the World Cup, U.S. club sides became interested, and in 2001, Sun Wen moved to Atlanta Beat. But she returned to China in 2003 to prepare for the World Cup. During four World Cups and two Olympics, Sun Wen played 28 matches and scored 16 goals, but unfortunately didn’t win either major trophy, losing out to the U.S. team on several occasions. In 2000, alongside Michelle Akers, Sun Wen was jointly voted FIFA Women’s Player of the Century. After retiring from playing, Sun Wen moved into the administrative side of the game in her home country.

Profile: Carol Thomas

Carol Thomas grew up with football all around her and kicked a ball as soon as she could walk. But it was after watching the men win the 1966 World Cup that she began taking it more seriously and her first competitive game was at the age of 11, playing for the works team British Oil and Cocoa Mills in Yorkshire. Her talent was spotted, and she moved to Reckitts Ladies, where she worked under the influential Flo Bilton. In 1974, aged 19, Carol won her first England cap. Within two years, she was the first choice right back under manager Tommy Tranter, who also made her captain when she was still only 20. During her England career, Carol led the team to win the 1976 Pony Home International, to a runners-up medal at the first UEFA Euros in 1984, and to their first Mundialito win in 1985. She was also captain when they played their first official tournament outside of Europe in 1981 at the Portopia Festival in Japan. She was captain for nine years—the longest-serving captain until Faye White overtook her in 2011. During her 56 caps, she was the most successful England captain until the current Lionesses began their winning form under Leah Williamson. Despite temporarily retiring to become a mum in 1993, she later returned to playing locally and only fully retired at age 54. She still occasionally plays and recently had a go at walking football (“It’s really hard to walk!”). Carol Thomas is considered an unsung hero of the modern game. In 2021, she was inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame, and she now speaks regularly to help current fans understand the historic contribution her team made to football in England. And now you know her name, you can spread the word too.

Profile: Linda Medalen

I think it’s fair to say that Linda Medalen isn’t a household name outside of Scandinavia. She should be. Linda is one of Norway’s most celebrated footballers. She played most of her long club football career in Norway with Asker Fotball but also spent seven years playing in the Japanese league for Nikko. Her international career is enough to earn her worldwide acclaim. During 152 appearances, she scored 64 goals, and she wasn’t even a striker for her entire career. As her career progressed, she moved from forward to midfielder to defender — a truly versatile player. Her debut for Norway came in 1987 and she scored her first two goals at the 1988 FIFA World Cup test event, including the winner in the final. Understandably, Medalen was named in the All-Star Team of the tournament. Developing a habit of scoring important goals, Medalen’s goal in the first minute of Norway’s semi-final against Sweden in the 1989 Euros helped them through to the final, which they lost to Germany. In their first FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign in 1991, Medalen scored six goals, including two in their semi-final win over Sweden and an equaliser in the final against the U.S. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to beat the United States Women’s National Team to the trophy. Medalen was named the third-best player of the tournament. On the way to Norway winning the 1993 Euros and the 1995 World Cup, Linda scored two goals and recorded three assists. At the 1996 Olympics, she was joint top scorer alongside compatriot Ann Kristin Aarønes and Brazil’s Pretinha, all scoring four goals. Medalen captained Norway to the 1999 World Cup but struggled under the system of their new coach. Her first major injury kept her out of the 2000 Olympics, and although Medalen felt she was fit by then, her coach disagreed. Adding literal insult to injury, the Norwegian Football Federation withdrew her funding soon after her injury. Linda Medalen retired in 2006, aged 41. Throughout her career, she has helped Norway win the 1988 World Cup trial event, the 1993 Euros, and the 1995 World Cup. She helped them reach the finals of the 1989 Euros, the 1991 Euros, and the 1991 World Cup and to a bronze medal at the inaugural 1996 Olympics. Surely enough to have her name remembered.

Profile: Carolina Morace

Carolina began playing senior football in 1978 and quickly became one of Italy’s top strikers. In the 1984-85 Serie A season, she was top scorer for Lazio and went on to win the accolade for 11 consecutive seasons between 1987 and 1998 (for various teams). She was the first woman to score a hat-trick at the FIFA Women’s World Cup when she scored four in a game at the inaugural 1991 competition. During 153 appearances for her country, Carolina scored 105 goals. She retired from playing in 1998 and turned to coaching. Her coaching career began with Lazio women’s team in 1998. In 1999, she became the first female to coach a professional men’s team when she took charge of Viterbese (who played in Serie C1) in June 1999. Unfortunately, this huge stride forward for equality was soon snuffed out when Carolina resigned after only two matches because the club’s president interfered with her running of the team. She went on to coach the Italian Women’s national side between 2000 and 2005, during which time they twice qualified for the Euros. Carolina also coached the Canadian women’s national team, Trinidad and Tobago, and then went back to Italy to head up Milan and then Lazio. She was a trailblazer as a player and remains one now.  Profile: Kerry DavisKerry Davis made her debut in 1982 and was the first black woman to play for England. She was a crucial attacking force for England for 16 years and became their top scorer. She started strongly when she scored twice in her first game, played against Northern Ireland on 19 September 1982. The game was a qualifier for the first UEFA Euros. Two weeks later, Kerry scored all four goals in England’s next qualifier against Scotland. Out of six qualifiers in the campaign, Kerry scored in five, netting a total of 11 times. In 1984, during the first leg of the Euros semi-final against Denmark, Kerry stuck another one in the back of the net. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get on the score sheet in the final against Sweden, which England lost on penalties. Kerry also played all four of England’s matches at the 1995 World Cup. Due to her versatility, she often played in midfield, but despite this, by the time her Lionesses career had ended, Kerry had scored 44 goals in 82 games. Her England goal-scoring record was only surpassed in 2012 by Kelly Smith, whose record was beaten again in 2021 by Ellen White. Both these women were pure centre forwards throughout their England careers, though. Kerry began her club career with Crewe Alexandra Ladies when she was a teenager, but within a few years, had been signed by Italian club Roi Lazio, who made her a semi-professional player. After a spell with Trani 80 and Napoli in Italy, she returned to Crewe. She moved to Knowsley United (later to become Liverpool) and played in the 1994 FA Cup Final with them before finishing her playing career with Croydon Women in 1999. During her time at Croydon, the team won the league and cup double, her first domestic trophies.

Profile: Pia Sundhage

Pia Sundhage has had two successful careers: one as a player and one as a coach. Born in 1960, Pia began playing football for fun. By the end of her playing career, she was Sweden’s top scorer. Pia first appeared for the Swedish women’s team at the age of 15. In 1984, when Sweden won the UEFA Euros, she was the top scorer. A few years later, her image appeared on a postage stamp — surely the greatest honour of all. She played at the 1991 and 1995 FIFA World Cups and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She holds the honour of scoring the first goal in a women’s match at Wembley when Sweden beat England 2-0 in 1989. Through her international career, she received 146 caps and scored 71 goals — making her joint top leading goalscorer at the time. In FIFA’s Women’s Player of the Century list, created in the year 2000, Pia was placed sixth. Her playing career was impressive, and her scoring record superb, but it is her coaching career that keeps her name relevant in women’s football now. Like her playing days, Pia’s coaching career began in the Swedish league. In 2001, she moved to the United States to become assistant coach at Philadelphia Charge in the newly formed Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) league. Soon after, she moved to Boston Breakers as head coach, where they won the league title; Pia was named 2003 WUSA Coach of the Year. When the WUSA folded, Pia went back to coach for club sides in Scandinavia and then became assistant coach for China at the 2007 Women’s World Cup. She was appointed as the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) head coach in November 2007. In 2008, they won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. In 2011, Pia led the team to the World Cup final, their first final appearance since their historic 1999 win (although they lost to Japan). In 2012, she again led them to Olympic glory as the USWNT won another gold medal in London. Pia stepped down as the U.S. coach soon after, with a record of 91 wins, ten draws, and only six losses. Her reason for leaving arguably the biggest job in women’s football? Fulfilling her dream of becoming head coach of her home country, Sweden. In their home Euros in 2013, Sweden reached the semi-finals but lost to Germany (smasher of dreams). Sweden reached the Round of 16 at the 2015 World Cup (Germany were in the way again) but won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, beating the U.S. on the way. In 2019, Pia became coach of the Brazil national team, a challenging appointment in a completely different culture. After Brazil exited early from the 2023 World Cup, she stepped down and currently coaches Switzerland.

Profile: Birgit Prinz

Birgit Prinz was a forward and attacking midfielder for Germany. She began her youth career at SV Dörnigheim in 1986 and her senior career at FSV Frankfurt in 1993. During her time with FSV Frankfurt, they won two Bundesliga titles and two German cups. She was the top scorer in the league in 1997 and 1998 and scored 45 goals in 57 appearances for FSV Frankfurt. She moved to local rivals 1. FFC Frankfurt in 1998, and throughout 13 seasons (with a break for a two-year stint at Carolina Courage in the U.S.), she scored over 200 goals, won the league’s top-scorer award twice more, won six Bundesliga titles, eight German Cups, and the UEFA Women’s Cup three times. Birgit also won German Female Footballer of the Year eight times, was FIFA World Player of the Year three times, and was runner-up to Marta on four other occasions. Birgit had made her debut for Germany when aged 16, in 1994. She came on as a substitute later in the match and scored the winning goal against Canada. In the final of the 1995 Euros, aged 17, she scored, and in the 1995 World Cup, she became the youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup final (the record still stands). Birgit was a key part of an outstanding German women’s team and, throughout her career, won five Euros and three Olympic bronze medals. In 2003 she helped the team win the World Cup, as well as winning herself the Golden Boot (7 goals) and the Golden Ball (best player). In 2007, she captained the team to their second World Cup trophy and ended the tournament as the winner of the Silver Ball (second-best player). She holds a whole host of records, including Germany’s most capped player (214) and top goalscorer (128), and she is the second all-time leading Women’s World Cup goalscorer with 14 goals (behind Marta).

Profile: Mia Hamm

You can’t talk about the USWNT in the 1990s without mentioning Mia Hamm, possibly the biggest name in U.S. women’s football. Born in 1972, Mia played through the transition years of women’s football in the country. An icon of the game, she helped the nation win two Olympic gold medals and two World Cups. At 15, she became the youngest person to be part of the U.S. team, and she was only 19 when they won the inaugural FIFA World Cup in China in 1991. She played in three Olympic tournaments, including the first in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney in 2000, and Athens in 2004. The U.S. team won gold at both the 1996 and 2004 Games. Playing as a forward, her career crossed three decades of football from 1987 to 2004. Across the three Olympics and four World Cups she attended, she played 42 matches and scored 14 goals. Her total international tally is 276 caps, with 158 goals and 144 assists. Her college team, the North Carolina Tar Heels, won four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships while she was at the University of North Carolina: helped by Mia’s 103 goals in 95 games between 1989 and 1993. Mia Hamm was FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002, and in 2004, Pelé chose her as one of FIFA’s 125 greatest living players. Named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year five years in a row, she has been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame and was the first woman to be inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame. She’s kind of a big deal in football. She now co-owns Angel City FC and remains very much involved in women’s football.

Profile: Hope Powell

Born in 1966, Hope made headlines in the newspapers when, aged 11, the FA banned her from playing for her school team. Because of the rules, girls were no longer allowed to play alongside boys once they turned 11. So, she moved on to Millwall Lionesses. After nearly a decade there, she moved to Friends of Fulham, where she played in the 1989 FA Cup final, scoring twice. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough, and they lost the final. Hope moved back to Millwall Lionesses and became their all-time top goalscorer. With Millwall, she won the 1991 FA Cup, but soon after, the team broke up. Hope, alongside Brenda Sempare, formed the Bromley Borough team, which later became part of Croydon FC, where Hope and Brenda played together. Hope captained Croydon to a league and cup double in 1995/96. In the FA Cup final, she scored the equaliser to take Croydon to penalties against Liverpool and scored one of the penalties, which helped them win the trophy.   She made her debut for England in 1983, aged 16, and was part of the squad that made it to the first Euros final in 1984. Hope was made vice-captain for the 1995 World Cup, and a few years later, in 1998, she became the first-ever full-time coach of England’s women’s team. She was still only 31. Having begun her coaching journey as a 19-year-old, in 2003, she became the first woman to earn a UEFA Pro Licence — the highest coaching qualification. Hope Powell led England’s Lionesses to the 2001, 2005, 2009, and 2013 Euros and to the 2007 and 2011 World Cup quarter-finals. During her time as England manager, she also oversaw the whole England setup from under-15s through to under-23s, as well as the FAs national Player Development Centre in Loughborough: an enormous job. She helped secure central contracts for some players for the first time, which meant they could train and play full-time rather than work part-time jobs. It’s no exaggeration to say Hope Powell paved the way for future Lionesses’ success.   As a player, she reached the 1984 Euros final and won two FA Cups and two division titles. During her 66 caps for England, she scored 35 goals. As a manager, she won two Cyprus Cups and led England to the 2009 Euros final. In 2012, she was awarded a CBE for her contribution to women’s football (having already received an MBE and OBE), and she was inducted into English Football’s Hall of Fame in 2003. Through the 1990s and beyond, Hope Powell was women’s football in England.

Profile: Kelly Smith

There’s still nobody in English football to rival the talents of Kelly Smith. A formidable striker who was equally devastating with both feet, Kelly broke records both in England and the U.S. She began her senior career at Wembley Ladies before moving to Arsenal for a season in 1996. Her excellent season and crucial goals helped secure the Gunners the Premier League title and also helped her secure football at college in the United States. She went to Seton Hall Pirates in 1997, where she became the first player in any sport to win the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards in the same season. During her college career, she scored 76 goals in 51 appearances. Kelly remained in the U.S. and played for several teams across several leagues because “women’s football in England is a joke”. In 2005, as things began improving, Kelly moved back to Arsenal. In the 2006/07 season, she was part of the quadruple-winning squad that won the league, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA Women’s Cup (now the Champions League). Across the four competitions, Kelly scored 30 goals in 34 games. She remained with Arsenal until 2009, continuing to score a ridiculous number of goals, before another spell in the U.S. with the Boston Breakers. The U.S. professional league collapsed in 2012, and Kelly returned to Arsenal, where she finished her career.   She played her first game for the Lionesses in November 1995, a few days before she turned 17. In her second match, she scored her first goal and didn’t stop scoring until her retirement. In 117 international caps, she scored 46 goals. Although she struggled with injuries throughout her career, she competed in three Euros and two World Cups. In 2010, Kelly became England’s all-time top goal scorer, but her tally of 46 goals for the Lionesses has now been overtaken by Ellen White’s 52. In 2008, Kelly Smith was awarded an MBE, recognising the fact that she was a standout star of her generation.  

Profile: Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach was one of the best U.S. players of all time, plus one of the world’s greats. Her fearlessness on the pitch and in front of goal had defences quaking, and rightly so. During her international career, she played 255 times for the USWNT and scored an incredible 184 goals, the leading goalscorer for her country. She had always been a goalscorer, and whilst at college, she set records at the University of Florida with 96 goals, 49 assists, and ten hat-tricks.   Abby’s international career began in 2001 before she even had a senior club team. The following year, she joined Washington Freedom alongside Mia Hamm. In 2003, Abby played all five matches in the U.S. team’s World Cup run, where they finished third. She was named U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2003 and then in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2013. In 2004, she scored 31 goals and recorded 13 assists in 30 matches for the USWNT. In the 2004 Olympics final, Abby scored a header in the 112th minute to secure the gold medal for her country. She broke her leg just before the 2008 Olympics, but in 2012, she scored five goals at the Olympics, hitting the back of the net in every game except the final, which the U.S. won anyway. Despite being the world’s record goalscorer (at the time), Abby Wambach didn’t win a World Cup in any of her first three competitions. So, the 2015 World Cup in Canada was now or never for the veteran. She captained the team in the first few games and came off the bench in later matches as the new generation of players took over. By the end of the tournament, Abby Wambach had added another World Cup goal to her tally and lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time.   During her career, Abby won the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award six times, won both a Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at World Cups, was voted FIFA World Player of the Year in 2012, won two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup, and was named on the Time 100 list as one of the world’s most influential people in 2015.

Profile: Marta

Marta is considered the best-ever female player. With 115 goals for her country and 17 World Cup goals — a record across the women’s and men’s games — it’s hard to dispute. She was the first player to score at five different World Cups and the first player to score at five Olympic Games. She is a goal-scoring phenomenon, regardless of her sex. Born in 1986, Marta is Brazilian-Swedish and has played at club level in both countries. Aged 14, her talent was uncovered, and shortly after, she began her career with Vasco de Gama in Rio de Janeiro.  In 2004, she moved to Sweden to play her club football with Umeä IK. The same year, she was awarded the Golden Ball for best player at the FIFA Under-19s Women’s World Championship. During her five years at Umeä, she scored an astonishing 111 goals in 103 appearances and won seven league titles. Marta moved to the U.S., played for three different teams between 2009 and 2011, and gained several Golden Boots and Most Valuable Player (MVP) accolades. She moved back to Sweden between 2012 and 2017 but returned to Orlando Pride in the U.S., where she still plays. During her career, she has won FIFA World Player of the Year six times, five of them consecutively between 2006-2010, and then again in 2018. Her flair, skill, and creativity have earned her the title of the greatest of all time. FIFA honoured this legacy in 2024 by awarding her their Special Award at the annual The Best FIFA Football Awards. They also created a new award in her honour for the best goal scored in women’s football each year. It’s known as the “Marta Award”.

Profile: Homare Sawa

Undoubtedly the greatest Asian player of all time and regarded as one of the best women’s footballers ever, Homare Sawa played all her club football in either Japan or the U.S. Born in 1978, she began her playing career aged 12 for Nippon TV Beleza where she played between 1991 and 1999. Whilst there, she won five titles and scored 79 goals in 136 appearances. She moved to the United States to continue her club career before returning to Japan in 2004. Homare’s playing career spanned 24 years in total, and her international career spanned 22 of them. As captain of Japan, she oversaw their meteoric rise to global glory. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Japan finished fourth and Homare finished as the third-highest scorer, sharing the honour with Marta. At the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, she scored a hat-trick against Mexico in the group stages: the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick. In extra time of the 2011 final, Homare scored the equaliser to keep them in the game. She finished the tournament as top scorer and best player. Later that year, she was named FIFA Women’s Player of the Year — the first Asian, man or woman, to win the title. In 2012, Homare Sawa captained Japan to a silver medal at the London Olympics. Although she retired after the tournament, she came out of retirement to represent her country one last time at the 2015 World Cup (her sixth World Cup). Soon after, she retired for good. Still Japan’s most-capped player, she scored 83 goals (also a record) in 205 games. In 2014, she was among the first inductees to the Asian Football Hall of Fame.

Profile: Christine Sinclair

Christine Sinclair is a legend of the game in Canada. Born in 1983, she only retired from international football in 2023 and club football in 2024. The forward played her league football in the United States. She began playing as a four-year-old in an under-7s team and helped her club team, Burnaby Girls, win six league titles. She was selected for the British Colombia under-14s team when she was only 11 and won three league titles with her secondary school team. When she was 15, she watched some games at the 1999 World Cup, which inspired her to follow her dream of playing for her country. Christine made her senior debut for Canada at the age of 16 when she played in the Algarve Cup in 2000. Unfazed by the big occasion, she scored three goals across the tournament. She went to college in the U.S. and played for the University of Portland. In her first season, she scored 23 goals, the best record in the first-year student standings across the whole division. In 2003, she represented Canada at the World Cup and then returned to Portland to score 22 more goals. In the same year, Christine also played in the FIFA under-19s Women’s World Championships and scored a record ten goals, earning her the Golden Boot and Golden Ball and helping Canada finish as runners-up. Through her international career, Christine scored 190 goals in 331 games. In 2010, she was the first Canadian to score 100 goals for her country and beat the country’s national team appearance record the same year. In 2021, Christine played her 300th match for her country, the opening game of their Olympics campaign. She also scored. In the semi-final, they beat the U.S. for the first time in 20 years, and in the Olympic final, Canada won the gold medal in a penalty shootout (Christine was substituted before extra time, so she didn’t take a penalty). It was the pinnacle of football, and Canada had surprised the world, helped by their talismanic and talented striker. If you ask the internet who has scored the most international goals in football, it will probably tell you Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s wrong. Christine Sinclair has scored the most at 190, and Ronaldo still has a long way to go to catch her. Sinclair is widely considered the best player Canada has ever produced. She is undoubtedly their biggest role model.