Leah Williamson

Arsenal Ladies

Williamson joined Arsenal Ladies's Centre of Excellence in 2006 at the age of nine.

2014

Williamson made her senior team debut as she came on as a 81st-minute substitution for Rachel Yankey in Arsenal Ladies's 0–2 defeat to Birmingham City Ladies in the UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final. She continued to make her FA WSL debut on 16 April against Notts County. She won her first major title, the 2014 FA Women's Cup with Arsenal L.F.C on 1 June in the final against Everton Ladies, in which she came on as a 76th-minute substitute for Jade Bailey. On 13 July, Williamson netted her first professional goal for Arsenal Ladies in a 4–0 win away against Millwall Lionesses in the Continental Cup. On 4 September, she scored her first league goal against Chelsea Ladies. She made 12 appearances in the 2014 FA Women’s Super League. At the end of the 2014 season, she was named the FA WSL Cup Player of the Year, ahead of Jess Clarke from Notts County Ladies, Ji So-yun from Chelsea Ladies and Toni Duggan from Manchester City

2015

On 8 January, Williamson won the England Women’s Youth Player of the Year award. Before the start of the 2015 FA Women's Super League, on 31 March, Williamson signed her first professional contract with Arsenal Ladies. On 26 April, she was named the 2014–15 PFA Young Women's Player of the Year.

Williamson scored her first goal of the season in a convincing 3–0 home victory over Watford Ladies in the FA Continental Cup on 23 July. Williamson got to the final of the FA Cup of 2016 where Arsenal eventually won by a 1–0 margin over Chelsea. As this is so, she was then able to victoriously lift the cup altogether.

International career

Williamson has represented England since 2010 at youth levels, currently playing in the under-23 squad. She captained the England under 17 side in the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship held in England in November and December 2013, where they eventually finished fourth after being beaten by Italy in the third place play-off, losing 3–4 in the penalty shootout. She was also part of the England women's national under-20 football team to compete in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Canada in August 2014. Williamson started in the starting lineup in every England's match. The tournament, however, was a disappointment for the team as they were not able to progress through to the quarter finals, finishing third in their group with only two draws against South Korea and Mexico respectively, and a defeat to Nigeria.

Penalty situation against Norway

On 9 April 2015, Williamson scored a penalty for her team in a qualifying match against Norway for the 2015 UEFA under-19 championship, which was ordered to be retaken five days after the original contest. In an unprecedented decision, UEFA had ordered the match to be restarted from the 96th minute.

Previously, on 4 April, Williamson's successful penalty for England was disallowed for player encroachment (by substitute Rosella Ayane, who had won the penalty and scored a goal in her brief cameo from the bench). The laws of the game state that in such a situation, the penalty should be retaken, but the German referee, Marija Kurtes instead awarded Norway a free kick. After protests from the England camp, the European governing body agreed that the match should be replayed from the time of the incident.

The players returned to finish the last two minutes of their match after each had played what was scheduled to be their last qualifying matches for the tournament. With the scores standing at 2–1 to Norway, Williamson equalised and, in doing so, booked her team's place in the tournament finals.

Personal life

Williamson grew up in Milton Keynes and lived close to the city's stadium. She comes from an Arsenal family and has been a 'Gooner' since birth.

Club

Club

Individual