Alanna Stephanie Kennedy (born 21 January 1995) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Manchester City in the English

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...

, as well as the Australia national team. Kennedy is recognized as being a versatile, technical player and is a right-footed free kick specialist. Known on the international level as a centre back, Kennedy also plays in the midfielder position.

Early life

Kennedy was raised in the Sydney suburb of Rosemeadow and attended primary school at Rosemeadow Public and selective sports school

Westfields Sports High School , motto_translation = Courage and Valour , established = , location = 406A Hamilton Road, Fairfield West, Western Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive ...

. As a youth, she was the only girl on an all-boys team and later played for the Campbelltown Cobras. She trained with the Girls Skills Acquisition Program (GSAP) at MacArthur Rams. Kennedy acknowledged the Rams training ground as her "second home" growing up.

Club career

W-League Beginnings, 2010–15

Kennedy started her W-league career playing for Sydney FC in the 2010–11 season, where she featured in 3 games. The following year, Kennedy switched clubs and joined the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australian ...

in the

2011–12 W-League The 2011–12 W-League season was the fourth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 pla ...

before returning to Sydney FC in the 2012–13 season. For the 2013–14 season, she joined city rivals

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

. and in the 2014 season she joined Perth Glory. In 2015, she returned to Sydney FC and would remain there the following 2 seasons.

Western New York Flash and Orlando Pride, 2016–20

In 2016, Kennedy signed with the

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Pro ...

in the National Women's Soccer League. She appeared in 17 games for the Flash in 2016. Kennedy played every minute of Western New York's two playoff games, as the Flash won the 2016 NWSL Championship. On 19 January 2017, Kennedy was traded to the

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride is a professional women's soccer team based in Orlando, Florida. The team joined the National Women's Soccer League, the top level of women's soccer in the US, for the 2016 season. It became the tenth team to be added to th ...

in exchange for midfielder

Sam Witteman Samantha Lynn Witteman (born February 26, 1994) is an American former soccer player. Shortly after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, where she played for the California Golden Bears, Witteman was drafted by the Orlando Pride ...

. She appeared in every game for the Pride in 2017. In the final game of the regular season on 30 September, Kennedy scored the game-winning goal on a free kick in stoppage time. This win allowed Orlando to finish the regular season in 3rd place and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in club history. In the semi-final, Kennedy scored again but Orlando lost 4–1 to the Portland Thorns. In the 2018 NWSL season, Kennedy appeared in 20 games and scored 2 goals; however, Orlando could not repeat their success of 2017 and finished outside the playoffs. In March 2020, the impending NWSL season was postponed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. An eventual restart was made through a smaller schedule 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. However, on 22 June, Orlando withdrew from the tournament following positive COVID-19 tests among both players and staff.

Melbourne City FC, 2017–18

Kennedy joined Melbourne City on loan for the

2017–18 W-League The 2017–18 W-League season was the tenth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players The ...

season. During the 2017–2018 season, Kennedy was named to the Westfield W-League's "Team of the Decade", which was composed of the best XI players to ever play in the W-League, as voted for by the fans.

Sydney FC, 2017–20

After spending one season at Melbourne City, Kennedy signed with Sydney FC for the

2018–19 W-League The 2018–19 W-League season was the eleventh season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Clubs Stadia and locations Personnel and kits Managerial changes Transfers Foreign players Th ...

season, returning to the club she had played at for four previous seasons. On 16 February 2019 Kennedy won her third W-league Championship title with a 4–2 win over Perth Glory in the

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...

. She re-signed with Sydney FC for the 2019–20 season. The team returned to the grand final in 2020 but lost to Melbourne City 1–0.

Tottenham Hotspur, 2020–21

In August, having been unable to feature for

in 2020 due to COVID-19 related issues, Kennedy moved to English FA WSL club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

on a six-month loan ahead of the 2020–21 season, with an option to make the move permanent. On 12 November 2020, while on loan at Tottenham, Kennedy's NWSL playing rights were acquired by

Racing Louisville FC Racing Louisville Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League team based in Louisville, Kentucky. It began playing in 2021 at Lynn Family Stadium. The team is owned by Soccer Holdings LLC, which also owns Louisville City FC of the USL Cham ...

in the 2020 NWSL Expansion Draft. Upon the expiration of her loan and NWSL contract in December 2020, Kennedy instead opted to remain in England and sign permanently with Tottenham until the end of the season. Kennedy was released by Tottenham on 25 May 2021.

Manchester City, 2021–

At the end of August 2021, Kennedy signed a two-year deal with Manchester City, joining national team-mate

Hayley Raso Hayley Emma Raso (born 5 September 1994) is an Australian Association football, soccer player, who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Manchester City W.F.C., Manchester City in the in the FA WSL, FA Women's Super League and t ...

International career

Kennedy debuted for the Matildas against New Zealand in 2012. In 2014, at age 19, she was named to the Matildas squad for the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup. She appeared in three games, as Australia finished runner-up to Japan.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

In May 2015, Kennedy was named to Australia's 23-player roster for the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

and was the second youngest player on their roster. Kennedy appeared in all five matches for Australia. The Matildas finished second in their group and advanced to the knockout stage. They defeated

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in round 16 but lost to Japan in the quarter-finals.

2016 Summer Olympics

Kennedy attended her first Olympic Games in 2016. She played every minute of Australia's four matches at

Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

. Their quarter-final match against Brazil was tied 0–0 after extra time and went to penalties. Kennedy was the final penalty taker for Australia; she did not score her penalty and Brazil won the match 7–6 on penalties. Kennedy was part of the Matildas squad that won the

2017 Tournament of Nations The 2017 Tournament of Nations was the inaugural Tournament of Nations, an international women's football tournament, consisting of a series of friendly games. It was held in the United States, from July 27 to August 3, 2017, and featured four t ...

and defeated the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for the first time ever. At the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup Kennedy scored two goals for Australia. The second goal she scored was a stoppage time equalizer against Thailand in the Semi-final. Australia went on to win the game in penalties. Australia lost to Japan 1–0 in the final.

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

In May 2019, Kennedy was named to the Matildas squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...

, the second time she was included in a World Cup squad. At the World Cup, Kennedy started all four of Australia's matches. In the Round of 16 tie against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, Kennedy received a straight red card in the 104th minute of extra-time for a DOGSO foul on Lisa-Marie Utland. Australia went on to lose on penalties and were eliminated.

2020 Summer Olympics

Kennedy was a member of the Matildas

Tokyo 2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

squad. The Matildas qualified for the quarter-finals and beat Great Britain before being eliminated in the semi-final with Sweden. In the playoff for the Bronze medal they were beaten by the USA.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kennedy goal.''

Honours

Club

Sydney FC * W-League Premiership:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* W-League Championship:

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2018–19 Alanna Kennedy in action at 2017 Algarve Cup

Perth Glory * W-League Premiership: 2014–15 Western New York Flash * National Women's Soccer League Championship:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Melbourne City * W-League Championship: 2017–18 Manchester City *

FA Women's League Cup The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...

: 2021-22

International

* AFF U-16 Women's Championship: 2009 * AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament:

* Tournament of Nations:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

FFA Cup of Nations The Cup of Nations is an invitational women's soccer tournament held early in the year in Australia. In the first edition (in 2019), it was contested by Australia, Argentina, South Korea, and New Zealand. On 12 January 2023, Football Australia ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual

* Sydney FC Player of the Year: 2015–16 *

2017 Golden Swans: Coaches Award * FIFPro 2017 Women's World XI shortlist: defender * IFFHS AFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020

References

External links

Australia player profile

Orlando Pride player profile
* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Alanna 1995 births Living people Australian women's soccer players Sydney FC (A-League Women) players Newcastle Jets FC (A-League Women) players Western Sydney Wanderers FC (A-League Women) players Perth Glory FC (A-League Women) players Western New York Flash players Orlando Pride players Melbourne City FC (A-League Women) players A-League Women players National Women's Soccer League players Australia women's international soccer players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Soccer players from Sydney Women's association football midfielders Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Olympic soccer players of Australia 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women players Manchester City W.F.C. players Women's Super League players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England People educated at Westfields Sports High School Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics FIFA Century Club Australian expatriate women's soccer players

Early life

Club career

W-League Beginnings, 2010–15

Western New York Flash and Orlando Pride, 2016–20

Melbourne City FC, 2017–18

Sydney FC, 2017–20

Tottenham Hotspur, 2020–21

Manchester City, 2021–

International career

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

2016 Summer Olympics

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup

2020 Summer Olympics

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

International

Individual

See also

References

Further reading

External links