Claire Utley (born 11 February 1979) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender, best known for her long association with

Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

. Utley represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

five times at senior international level.

Club career

In summer 1994 three players from

Doncaster Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

' double-winning team left for Liverpool Ladies. As a result, Minsthorpe High School pupil Utley was drafted into the first team as a fifteen-year-old centre-back, making her debut in a 7–1 home win against Millwall Lionesses on the opening day of the 1994–95 season. In October 1994 she featured in the

FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...

final, held over from the previous season, as the Belles were beaten 4–0 by

Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arse ...

. Utley was nicknamed Des after

Des Walker Desmond Sinclair Walker (born 26 November 1965) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a defender. At club level he played in seven cup finals for Nottingham Forest at Wembley, winning five of them. He was Forest's play ...

. She suffered an

Anterior Cruciate Ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

injury in April 2001 and missed a year of action, returning for the Belles' 2–1 defeat to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in the 2002

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...

final. She then spent a short spell at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

in 2002–03. In 2004 Doncaster Belles suffered an exodus of players after a financial crisis, however, Utley and

Vicky Exley Vicky Exley (born 22 October 1975) is an English former international footballer from Rotherham in South Yorkshire. She most recently played for Doncaster Rovers Belles in the FA WSL, the top division of women's football in England. Exley also ...

chose to remain loyal to the club. She joined Whitley Bay ahead of season 2010–11. After two appearances that season, Utley left the club.

International career

After breaking through at Doncaster Belles, Utley was thought likely to play for England "as sure as the sun shines on the Sahara." Utley eventually won five

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for the senior

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first in ...

References

1979 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Leeds United Women F.C. players FA Women's National League players Women's association football defenders {{England-footy-defender-1970s-stub