Deanna Rose Cooper (born 20 June 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. She previously played for Gillingham,

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

London Bees London Bees is an English women's football club affiliated with Barnet F.C. They play in the FA Women's National League South. The club has been in existence under several names since 1975, originally being called District Line Ladies F.C.. Th ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Football career

Club

London Bees

Cooper played for

during the

2016 FA WSL The 2016 FA WSL was the sixth edition of the FA WSL since it was formed in 2010. The WSL 1 was expanded to nine teams. The WSL 2 included one team promoted from the FA Women's Premier League for the first time. The season started on 23 March and ...

season. Playing primarily as a centreback defender, she scored 1 goal in her 11 appearances for the club. During the first round of the 2016 FA WSL Cup, she scored an equaliser against former champions Chelsea which resulted in a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

and win for the Bees.

Chelsea

Cooper signed with

in February 2017. Of her signing, she said, "It is a dream of mine to join a pro club so to be here is an amazing feeling. I have worked my way through the ranks and am delighted to have done enough to earn a contract with Chelsea." Cooper was a starting defender in 8 of the 11 matches in the

FA WSL Spring Series The FA WSL Spring Series was an interim edition of the FA WSL between the sixth and seventh full seasons. The Spring Series ran from February to May 2017 to bridge the gap from the 2016 FA WSL season which ran from March to September as a summer t ...

, helping the team win with a record. Ahead of the 2017–18 season, she experienced an ACL injury. In March 2018, she signed a two-year extension with Chelsea.

Reading

On 17 July 2020,

announced the signing of Cooper. On 7 July 2022, Reading announced that Cooper had signed a new two-year contract with the club.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;Chelsea *

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 ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, 2019-20 *

FA Women's League Cup The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...

: 2019-20

Cricket career

Cooper played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

between 2008 and 2016, playing as a right-arm

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

bowler and right-handed

batter Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

. She also played for

England Academy The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...

and in the

Super Fours The Super Fours was a women's limited overs cricket competition which was played annually in England between 2002 and 2013, with a break in 2009 and 2010. Designed to bring together the leading 48 players in English women's cricket, it originally ...

. She retired from cricket after sustaining an injury.

References

External links

*
Chelsea profile
* 1993 births Living people Footballers from Chatham, Kent Women's association football fullbacks English women's footballers Women's Super League players Chelsea F.C. Women players London Bees players Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players Gillingham L.F.C. players Kent women cricketers Cricketers from Kent {{England-women-footy-bio-stub