Gabriella Fern Whelan (born 5 December 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played for Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. She previously played for both Liverpool and Everton in her native Merseyside and Notts County. She has represented England women's national football team at youth and senior level. A quick central defender, Whelan was named the FA Women's Young Player of the Year in 2008.

Personal life

Whelan attended St Pascal Baylon School in Court Hey. She was in a relationship with fellow footballer Aileen Wheelan as of 2021.

Club career

Whelan started playing football for her school's boys' team. Her school teacher played for Liverpool Feds and signed Whelan up to play for their junior side. She progressed to the Liverpool Ladies senior side before leaving to join Everton Ladies during the 2005 close season. After playing in every round of the

2007–08 FA Women's Premier League Cup The FA Women's Premier League Cup 2007–08 was the 17th staging of the FA Women's Premier League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 36 women's football clubs. The tournament was won by Everton L.F.C., who beat previous holders Arsenal ...

, Whelan missed Everton's 1–0 final win over

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 ...

when she injured her cruciate ligaments in January 2008. Despite missing half the season with the injury, she was named the FA Young Player of the Year for 2007–08. In the

2010 FA Women's Cup Final The 2010 FA Women's Cup Final was the 40th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. It was the 17th final to be held under the direct control of the Football Association (FA). The match was contes ...

, Whelan came on as a second-half substitute for Rachel Unitt as Everton beat Arsenal 3–2 in extra time. After aggravating her previous knee injury, Whelan underwent surgery which saw her miss the entire

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2013 seasons. She declared a "brilliant feeling" in returning to the squad for

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Whelan was a late substitute in Everton's 2–0 2014 FA Women's Cup final defeat by Arsenal. When the 2014 season culminated in Everton's relegation, Whelan signed for Notts County on a two-year contract. In March 2017, Whelan agreed an extension to her Notts County contract, only for the club to fold on the eve of the FA WSL Spring Series season. Instead she agreed to rejoin Everton on a free transfer. She transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2017. Whelan announced her retirement from professional football in October 2020, due to injury.

International career

Whelan has represented England at Under-15, Under-19 (as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Under-20 Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...

and Under-23 levels. Whelan was named UEFA's "golden player" after inspiring England to the final of the

2007 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship } The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2007 Final Tournament was held in Iceland between 18–29 July 2007. Players born after 1 January 1988 were eligible to participate in this competition. Final tournament Group stage Group A ---- ---- --- ...

. She recovered from a serious knee injury to captain England at the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

in Chile in November 2008. National coach Hope Powell gave Whelan a first call-up to the senior England squad in October 2009, replacing

Anita Asante Anita Amma Ankyewah Asante (born 27 April 1985) is an English Association football, football Coach (sports), coach and former Defender (association football), defender or midfielder who is the first-team coach at Bristol City W.F.C., Bristol Cit ...

who was withdrawn after the initial announcement of the squad. In May 2011 Whelan received another senior call-up when

Fara Williams Fara Tanya Franki Merrett MBE (born 25 January 1984) is an English former footballer who played as a central midfielder for multiple clubs, as well as the English national team. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was ...

withdrew from the squad for a home friendly with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. She won her first cap as a late substitute for Casey Stoney in England's 2–0 win. Powell did not select Whelan for the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...

in Germany, but she made her first competitive appearance in England's 4–0

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying The Qualifying rounds for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 determined which 11 teams joined Sweden women's national football team, Sweden, the hosts of the 2013 tournament, to play for the UEFA Women's Championship. Tie breakers If two or more teams are ...

win over Slovenia at the County Ground, Swindon on 22 September 2011. At the

2012 Cyprus Cup The 2012 Cyprus Women's Cup was the fifth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. It took place between 28 February – 6 March 2012. Format The twelve invited teams were split into ...

Whelan won another cap as England beat

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

1–0. During the tournament she suffered a recurrence of her cruciate ligament injury and underwent surgery which kept her out for nearly two years, causing her to miss the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and UEFA Women's Euro 2013. Whelan was allotted 177 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Post-football career

As well as being a professional footballer, Whelan is a qualified physiotherapist. Following her retirement from football, Whelan became an executive for equality, diversity and inclusion in women's football at the Professional Footballers' Association.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Fern Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers England women's under-23 international footballers Liverpool F.C. Women players Everton F.C. (women) players Notts County L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Footballers from Liverpool British LGBT footballers Lesbian sportswomen 1988 births Women's Super League players Women's association football defenders Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players Liverpool Feds W.F.C. players English women trade unionists Trade unionists from Liverpool British physiotherapists