Carla Ward (born 21 December 1983) is an English

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and former midfielder who is the

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Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in the FA Women's Super League.

Early life

Born on the Isle of Wight, Ward grew up on a council estate in Torquay where she learned to play football in the street.

Club career

After a season in Spain with

Sporting Plaza de Argel Sporting Plaza de Argel, also known formerly as Hércules CF Femenino, is a Spanish women's football club from Alicante currently playing in Segunda División's Group 4. History Founded in 1995, it was the first organized women's football team ...

, Ward joined Leeds United for 2007–08, but signed for Lincoln in December 2007. In summer 2009 Doncaster Rovers Belles beat competition from other Premier League clubs to secure Ward's signature, but she experienced a "change of heart" and returned to Lincoln after a few weeks. When Lincoln were accepted into the new

FA WSL 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 t ...

, Ward moved to Sheffield FC, initially on loan. In November 2017, club

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Ward left Sheffield FC after more than 200 appearances and over 100 goals.

Managerial career

Sheffield United

In November 2017, Ward joined Sheffield United in the FA Women's Premier League Midlands Division One as player-assistant manager. She took over as interim manager on 17 January 2018 after Dan O'Hearne stepped down before being given the job on a permanent basis. In her first game as interim manager, United beat Birmingham & West Midlands 5–0 followed up with a 10–0 victory over Rotherham United. Ward was involved in the club's successful application to the

FA Women's Championship The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

. In total, Ward managed for 58 games, taking the team to a 5th place Championship finish in the 2018–19 season and a 2nd place finish in the 2019–20 season before mutually agreeing to depart in July 2020.

Birmingham City

In August 2020, Ward was appointed Birmingham City with the team in the middle of a rebuild having narrowly escaped relegation the season before and only retaining ten senior players following an offseason exodus. During her tenure, the players formally issued a list of complaints to the club's board, stating that the club was "preventing us from performing our jobs to the best of our ability." Concerns included lack of facilities, medical support and travel provisions. Ward was named to WSL Manager of the Year shortlist at the end of the season, steering the team away from relegation as Birmingham finishing 11th of 12 teams. On 14 May 2021, Ward announced her resignation effective as of the team's final game of the season on 16 May 2021.

Aston Villa

On 20 May 2021, Ward was appointed manager of FA WSL side

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual * FA Women's Super League Manager of the Month: September 2022, January 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Carla Living people 1980 births English women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Spain English expatriate women's footballers Women's association football midfielders FA Women's National League players Footballers from Devon Notts County L.F.C. players Sheffield F.C. Ladies players Leeds United Women F.C. players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Bristol City W.F.C. players Sheffield United W.F.C. players Birmingham City W.F.C. players Aston Villa W.F.C. players English women's football managers Footballers from the Isle of Wight English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Women's Super League managers Sporting Plaza de Argel players Birmingham City W.F.C. managers Aston Villa W.F.C. managers Sportspeople from Torquay