Celia Jiménez Delgado (born 20 June 1995), commonly known as Celia, is a Spanish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

right wing-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

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 the l ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

(NWSL) and the Spain national team.

Early life

Born in

Alcaudete Alcaudete is a city located in the province of Jaén, Andalusia, Spain. As of 2018, it has a population of 10,558. It is home to a 12th-14th century Moorish castle, located on the top of the hill commanding the town. Other sights include the ''Ig ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, Celia grew up playing football at school during recess, leading her mother to encourage her to join hometown club ADV Alcaudete. At the age of 12, Celia was no longer allowed to play on boys' teams and left to join the girls' academy at

Real Jaén Real Jaén Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Jaén, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1929 it plays in Tercera División RFEF, holding home matches at ''Nuevo Estadio de La Victoria'', with a capacit ...

. She debuted for the senior team of

FCF Atlético Jiennense FCF Atlético Jiennense is a Spanish football club from Jaén, currently playing in third-tier Primera Provincial Andaluza. Jiennense played in second-tier Primera Nacional through the 2000s, usually ranking in the top half of the table. In 20 ...

, Jaén's female affiliate, during the

2009–10 Superliga Femenina The 2009–10 Superliga season was the 22nd since its establishment. Rayo Vallecano were the defending champions, having won their title in the previous season. League expansion and format changes On 26 May 2009, the Royal Spanish Football Feder ...

season, becoming the youngest Spanish first division player at the age of 14. Ahead of the

2010–11 Superliga Femenina The 2010–11 Superliga season will be the 23rd since its establishment. Rayo Vallecano are the defending champions, having won their 2nd title in the previous season. First round Group A Group B Group C Second round Group A Group B Gr ...

season, Celia joined

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

but the team was relegated to the Segunda División at the end of the campaign before winning promotion back to the Primera División the following season. After three seasons, Celia left Sevilla.

College career

Celia grew up fascinated by engineering and watched her older sister, Laura, pursue a career in

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

. Celia wanted to follow in her sister's footsteps but did not want to give up playing football so, despite fielding offers from clubs in Spain, decided moved to the United States on a scholarship to play collegiately while studying aerospace engineering. She spent two years at

Iowa Western Community College Iowa Western Community College is a public community college in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was founded in 1967 and offers 84 programs in both vocational and technical areas as well as in liberal arts. It is also home to a flight school. Campus A ...

, helping the Reivers to win the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

National Championship title as a freshman while being named to the NJCAA 2013 All-Tournament Team and as the most valuable forward in the tournament. She earned first-team All-American honours at the junior college level in both seasons. In 2015, Celia transferred to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

to join

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

program

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. In her first season with the team, Celia made 19 appearances and was selected to the All-SEC second-team. She suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2016 preseason and considered retiring but, having spent a redshirt year focusing on her studies, returned in 2017 to make 20 appearances and earned All-SEC first-team honours.

Club career

Seattle Sounders

On 18 January 2018, Celia was selected in the fourth round (36th overall) of the

2018 NWSL College Draft The 2018 NWSL College Draft was the sixth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 18, 2018 at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

Seattle Reign OL Reign is an American professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's S ...

. In doing so she became the first Spanish player and the first Alabama Crimson Tide player to be drafted into the NWSL. She did not initially sign with the team, instead opting to remain in college to finish her degree. After graduating in June 2018, Celia trained full-time with Reign FC while playing for

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

side

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

during the remainder of the

2018 WPSL season The 2018 WPSL season is the 22nd season of the Women's Premier Soccer League. The Central Conference consists of 4 sections. Standings Central Region Northern Conference Heartland Conference Red River Conference Mountain Conference ...

, scoring the winning goal in the Championship final.

FC Rosengård

On 13 August 2018, Celia joined Swedish

Damallsvenskan The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ''ladies all-Swedish'' and also known as OBOS Damallsvenskan for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred to as the women's Allsvenskan. The term Allsvenskan ...

club

FC Rosengård FC Rosengård, formerly Malmö FF Dam (1970–2007) and LdB FC Malmö (2007–2013), is a professional football club based in Malmö, Scania, Sweden. The team was established as Malmö FF Dam in 1970. It started out with playing 7 seasons in th ...

for the remainder of the

2018 Damallsvenskan The 2018 Damallsvenskan was the 30th season of the Swedish women's association football top division, Damallsvenskan. It began on 14 April 2018 and ended on 27 October the same year. Linköpings FC were the defending champions, having won the compe ...

season. She made her debut five days later, starting in a 10–0 win over

IFK Kalmar IFK Kalmar is a association football, football club based in Kalmar, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden, the Damallsvenskan. IFK Kalmar play their home games at Gröndals IP in Kalmar. Current squad . Former players ''For ...

. She made a total of 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win over

Kristianstads DFF Kristianstads DFF is a women's association football club from Kristianstad, Sweden. The club is affiliated to the Skånes Fotbollförbund. History The original club Wä IF played in from 1989 to 1994 in the Damallsvenskan. The club was reformed ...

on 23 September.

Reign FC

Ahead of the

2019 NWSL season The 2019 National Women's Soccer League season was the seventh season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer ...

, Celia returned to sign with Reign FC. In her first season with the team, Celia made 13 appearances including 10 starts and scored once, the only goal in a 1–0 win over derby rivals

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

. During the NWSL offseason, Celia joined Australian W-League club

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

in November 2019 on loan for the

2019–20 W-League The 2019–20 W-League season was the twelfth season of the W-League, the Australian national women's association football competition. Nine teams competed in the league, with most of the players from Australia but 33 of them from 11 other cou ...

season. She made nine appearances and scored three goals. With the 2020 NWSL season disrupted by the

COVID-19 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 identif ...

, Celia played for the newly rebranded OL Reign during the

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States. ...

before missing the four-game friendly

Fall Series The PGA Tour Fall Series was name of the events on the PGA Tour that covered the end of the calendar year from 2007 to 2012 after the Tour Championship. Beginning in 2013, these events became part of the PGA Tour season, which from that point began ...

to join

Division 1 Féminine The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twelv ...

side and sister club of the OL Reign,

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

, on loan until June 2021. She ultimately didn't make an appearance for the team and was recalled from loan in February to prepare for Reign preseason. Despite not playing, Celia stated: "Being at OL pushed me to keep growing and developing as a player. I am very grateful for the opportunity both clubs gave to me." Ahead of the 2021 season, Celia also received a permanent resident

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

meaning she no longer occupied an NWSL international roster spot.

Orlando Pride

On 18 December 2021, Celia was traded during the

2022 NWSL Draft The 2022 NWSL Draft was the 10th annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on December 18, 2021, and hosted remotely by CBS Sports. Format * All 12 teams of the National ...

along with Leah Pruitt, the 10th overall pick, and a second-round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft to

in exchange for Phoebe McClernon.

International career

Youth

Celia has represented Spain at multiple youth levels, captaining both the under-17 and under-19 teams. She was part of the team that won the

2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The 2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship was the fourth edition of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Spain was the title holder. Like the previous tournaments, there were two qualifying rounds. Qualification First qualifying round Forty ...

, appearing as a 40th-minute substitute in the final against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and also finished as runner-up at the

2014 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship 2014 Final Tournament was held in Norway from 15 to 27 July 2014. The first qualification matches were played on 21 September 2013. A competition record of 48 participating nations was set. For the first time ...

Senior

Celia made her

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

international debut aged 19 on 17 September 2014, starting against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

during

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification The qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup determined which 23 teams joined Canada, the hosts of the 2015 tournament, to play for the Women's World Cup. The field was expanded from 16 teams in the 2011 edition to 24 in the 2015 edit ...

but had to be substituted after 25 minutes with an injury. With only three caps for Spain, Celia was included in the squad 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 ...

, the youngest player in the squad. She started in all three of Spain's

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

games in the country's first appearance at a

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

. Spain were eliminated as bottom of the group having lost to

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 ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and drew with

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. In 2017, Celia was named to her second successive major tournament squad as Spain contested the

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national team ...

. She was an unused substitute behind

Marta Torrejón Marta Torrejón Moya (; born 27 February 1990) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Barcelona. She formerly captained the Spain national team, making 90 appearances and scoring 8 goals. Club career Torrejón deb ...

in all four games as Spain were eliminated on penalties by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the quarter-finals. In 2018, Celia was part of the squad that won the

2018 Cyprus Women's Cup The 2018 Cyprus Cup was the eleventh edition of the Cyprus Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place from 28 February to 7 March 2018. Spain won the title for the first time after defeating Italy 2– ...

. In 2019, Celia was called up 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. It ...

. She made one appearance, as an 86th-minute substitute in a goalless draw with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the group. Spain were eliminated in the round of 16 by eventual winners

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 territorie ...

Career statistics

College summary

Club summary

International summary

Honours

College

Iowa Western Reivers *

National Championship: 2013

Club

Seattle Sounders *

Championship:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

International

UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, is a European championship football tournament, organized by UEFA, for national teams of women under age seventeen. The tournament was first played out i ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Cyprus Women's Cup The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in th ...

References

External links

* * * *
Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jiménez, Celia 1995 births Living people Spanish women's footballers Women's association football fullbacks Footballers from Jaén, Spain Spain women's international footballers 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Iowa Western Reivers women's soccer players Alabama Crimson Tide women's soccer players Sevilla FC (women) players Seattle Sounders Women players FC Rosengård players OL Reign draft picks OL Reign players Perth Glory FC (A-League Women) players Primera División (women) players Women's Premier Soccer League players Damallsvenskan players National Women's Soccer League players A-League Women players Spanish expatriate women's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate women's footballers in Sweden Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate women's soccer players in Australia UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players Spain women's youth international footballers