Clare Wheatley (born 4 February 1971) is a

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 ...

administrator and former player for

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 ...

who played as a wing back.

Playing career

Wheatley started playing football at her

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

before the school banned its pupils from playing football. When she was studying to be a Physical Education teacher at

Sheffield City Polytechnic Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

, she joined Sheffield Wednesday Ladies. In 1993, she played for Chelsea Ladies. In 1995, after a successful training camp, she joined Arsenal Ladies and was reminded by manager

Vic Akers Victor David Akers, OBE (born 24 August 1946) is a football manager and former player who was most recently the assistant manager at Boreham Wood. Akers played as a left back. He was also manager of Arsenal Ladies winning numerous trophies wit ...

"Arsenal Ladies is not a social club". A year later she made her debut for the

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 ...

as a substitute. In 1997, she suffered an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

in a match against Millwall Lionesses, which meant she could not play for a whole season nor do her job as a PE teacher, but she returned in 1998. Following her return, she did not receive another England call-up. In 2001, following an injury playing against

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 ...

, Wheatley was forced to retire. In 2004, she came out of retirement to play two more seasons for Arsenal before again retiring from playing in 2005. She was allotted 115 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Administration

During Wheatley's time injured in 1997, Akers had been appointed as kitman for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, so she could take over his role as club development officer. When she had to give up playing, she remained as the club's development officer. In 2014, when Akers retired, Wheatley succeeded him as the General Manager of Arsenal Ladies. In 2020, Arsenal Women were fined £50,000 for discrimination after it was found by a Football Association tribunal that Wheatley had fired a youth coach who had been diagnosed with autism.

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1998–99

References

Living people Arsenal W.F.C. players 1971 births England women's international footballers Chelsea F.C. Women players Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University English women's footballers Footballers from Kingston upon Thames Women's association football fullbacks {{England-women-footy-bio-stub