Carmaine Walker (born 5 November 1979) is a former English

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 ...

er, who represented

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 ...

. A tall and powerful striker, Walker won the

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 ...

once and the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

twice with home town club

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. Now working as a driver for Initial Medical

Club career

Walker began her football career with a decade at Crystal Palace. She moved to St Georges in 1996 and hit 63 goals in 84 games across all competitions. After joining Croydon in 1998, Walker won the

twice and the

once, before Croydon came under the auspices of Charlton Athletic in 2000. Walker headed the opening goal in Croydon's 2–1 FA Women's Cup final win over

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 ...

in 2000. She remained with Charlton and played in successive FA Women's Cup final defeats in 2003 and 2004. A long-term injury had kept Walker out of action for most of the 2001–02 season. In March 2004 Walker scored twice and missed a penalty as Charlton ended

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 ...

's two-year unbeaten league run. Charlton manager

Keith Boanas Keith Robert Boanas (born 22 April 1959) is an English football manager. Playing career Boanas has played and coached on the semi-professional circuit, Boanas made three substitute appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United after being appointe ...

said, "She used to have disciplinary problems, always late for training. But I've instilled belief in her that she could be an England player." Walker made a brief comeback with Millwall Lionesses in August 2008, scoring a penalty in a 2–1 debut win over Ipswich Town.

International career

Walker was first called up by the senior England team in January 2003, for the annual training camp at

La Manga Club La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 a ...

. Her first cap came the following month, replacing namesake Karen Walker during a 1–0 defeat to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city within the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as ...

. In May 2003 Walker made two further appearances during England's ill-fated tour of North America, starting two 4–0 defeats to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

after sitting out a 6–0 humbling by

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 ...

. She also featured in friendlies against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

later that year. In September 2003 an on-pitch altercation with Doncaster Belles' former Charlton Athletic player

Carly Hunt Carly Hunt (born 4 June 1981) is a retired English footballer. She played as a midfielder and has represented England at senior international level. Throughout her career she played alongside her identical twin sister Gemma and they were nicknam ...

saw a red card for Walker. Days later the incident spilled over into an England training session, resulting in lengthy bans for twins Carly and Gemma Hunt, as well as Walker and her Charlton teammate Eartha Pond. Walker was recalled to the National squad after serving the suspension. Her sixth and final appearance for England came as a half time substitute for club mate

Amanda Barr Amanda Jayne Maslin-Barr (born 2 May 1982) is an English football striker She scored ten goals in 37 appearances for the England women's national football team after making her international debut in 2001. Barr spearheaded the England attack a ...

in a 1–0 friendly win over

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in May 2004. She was allotted 148 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Carmaine 1979 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Crystal Palace F.C. (Women) players Women's association football forwards