Fara Tanya Franki Merrett MBE (born 25 January 1984) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a central

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for multiple clubs, as well as the English national team. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was considered one of England's leading players. After making her senior debut in 2001, Williams earned 172

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for the England Women's Team, making her their highest capped player. She played at the 2005, 2009,

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and

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European Championships, as well as the World Cups in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Williams also featured for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

at the

2012 London Olympics 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 ...

. Williams' club career started with

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 ...

then she progressed to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

in 2001. She signed for Everton in 2004 and later became the captain of the club, winning the Premier League Cup in 2008 and 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 ...

in 2010. After eight years with Everton she signed for local rivals

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 2012 and won the league title in 2013 and 2014. Williams was named

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

(FA) Young Player of the Year in 2002, FA Players' Player of the Year in 2009 and FA International Player of the Year in both 2007 and 2009.

Club career

Williams attended Shene School in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commis ...

and joined Chelsea Ladies under–14s at the age of 12. She scored 30 goals for Chelsea's first team in 2000–01 and signed for Charlton Athletic Ladies during the following season. She won Charlton's Player of the Year and the FA Women's Young Player of the Year in her first season, 2001–02. A back injury ruled Williams out of much of the 2002–03 season. In May 2003 Williams scored an unfortunate own goal three minutes after coming on as a substitute in Charlton's 3–0

final defeat to Fulham. She headed a corner from Fulham's

Rachel Unitt Rachel Elizabeth Unitt (born 5 June 1982) is a former English footballer who last played for FA Women's Championship club London Bees. After beginning her club career with Wolves, Unitt began a long association with Everton in 2000. This was int ...

– Williams' England teammate and then flatmate – into her own net. In 2003–04 Williams returned to form and was an important part of the Charlton Athletic side who challenged for all three domestic trophies. She started Charlton's second successive FA Women's Cup final in May 2004, but suffered another 3–0 defeat as

Julie Fleeting Julie Fleeting MBE (born 18 December 1980), whose married name is Julie Stewart, is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. She spent nine years at English club Arsenal and was the first Scot to play as a full-time professional ...

scored a hat-trick for Arsenal. Although Arsenal also pipped Charlton to the League title by a single point, Williams collected an FA Women's Premier League Cup winners' medal when Charlton beat Fulham 1–0 at Underhill in March 2004. Williams surprisingly moved to Everton Ladies in summer 2004, where fans gave her the nickname "Queen Fara". In 2004–05 Williams lost her third FA Women's Cup final in a row, to former club Charlton. She won another League Cup medal in 2007–08 as Everton defeated Arsenal at Brisbane Road. Williams missed two penalties, one in normal time and one in the shoot-out, as Everton were edged out by

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

in the FA Women's Cup semi-final at

Haig Avenue Haig Avenue is a football stadium in Blowick, Southport, Merseyside, England, that holds 6,008 people (1,660 seated, 4,164 standing) Since its opening in 1905 it has been the home ground of Southport F.C. Everton Reserves also use the stadium f ...

. In 2008–09 Everton missed out on the League title on goal difference after a final day defeat to Arsenal. However, Williams' performances saw her voted FA Players' Player of the Year. On 23 September 2009 Williams was picked in the

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS) International Draft by Philadelphia Independence. She was due to join up with her England teammate

Lianne Sanderson Lianne Joan Sanderson (born 3 February 1988) is a current broadcaster and former English professional footballer who played as a forward. She won 50 caps for the England national team. At international level, Sanderson made her debut for Engla ...

in America, before deciding to stay with Everton. Williams' loyalty was rewarded with another two Cup finals in 2010: a defeat to

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie ...

in the Premier League Cup, in which Williams scored Everton's consolation, followed by a memorable extra–time win over Arsenal in the FA Women's Cup. Fara Williams (16054926029)

In November 2012 Williams and

Natasha Dowie Natasha Khalila Dowie (born 30 June 1988) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Women's Super League club Reading. She represented the England women's national football team at the youth level before making her senior internat ...

left Everton for local rivals

, who were hoping to build a squad capable of ending Arsenal's dominance of English women's football. Liverpool beat Bristol Academy 2–0 on the final day to secure the

2013 FA WSL The 2013 FA WSL was the third season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's Association football, football league of England. The season began on 14 April and ended on 29 September. Arsenal were the defending champions, having won their ninth co ...

league title. Liverpool retained their title in

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, but were much less successful in 2015. They finished seventh of eight teams as Williams missed three months of the season with a hamstring injury and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who is currently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool FC Women. He has managed the side previously, as well as the women's teams of Bristol City ...

departed for American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

. On 5 January 2016, Liverpool confirmed that Williams would be leaving the club to sign for deposed former champions Arsenal Ladies. Williams said: "I have really enjoyed my time at Liverpool Ladies and will take away some absolutely fantastic memories. When I first joined the Club the team had finished bottom of the league so to win back to back league titles was an incredible achievement." On 16 August 2017, she left Arsenal Women to join

Women's Super League 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 ...

(WSL) rivals Reading on a two-year deal. In May 2019, she signed a new contract with Reading. On 26 April 2021, Williams announced that she would be retiring from the game at the end of the 2020–21 season.

International career

England

Williams' senior

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 ...

debut came aged 17 against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in November 2001. During the return fixture in February 2002, her first start, Williams scored the opening goal from a free kick in a 3–0 win at Fratton Park. Williams played in all three of England's group games at Women's Euro 2005, scoring a penalty in the 2–1 defeat to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. She also scored five goals in helping England qualify for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in China, including two in the 13–0 win over

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. Williams forced the decisive own-goal in the play-off against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

which sealed qualification. She went on to play in all three of England's group games at the

, and scored a penalty in England's 6–1 win over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. However, she also picked up her second yellow card of the group stage in that match, and so missed the quarter-final defeat by the

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 territori ...

through suspension. On 23 May, Williams picked up the 2007 FA International Player of the Year Award. On 8 May 2008 England played

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

in the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying and Williams scored a hat-trick of long-range goals. In May 2009 Williams was again named FA International Player of the Year, and was also voted FA Players' Player of the Year. At the Euro 2009 final tournament in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, Williams scored a penalty during England's first game against

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 ...

. However, England lost the match 2–1 after Williams' error resulted in a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

for

Casey Stoney Casey Jean Stoney (born 13 May 1982) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of San Diego Wave FC. A versatile defender, she was capped more than 100 times for the England women's national footbal ...

. England improved and Williams, captain in the absence of the injured

Faye White Faye Deborah White, (born 2 February 1978) is an English former footballer who captained Arsenal Women in the FA Women's Super League and is the longest-serving female captain of England to date. Her Lionesses career spanned 15 years and five ...

, scored in a 3–2 quarter final win over hosts

. She also featured in the semi-final win over

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and 6–2 final defeat by

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 ...

. Williams was England's top-scorer with seven goals during qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. A knee injury sustained in a WSL match with Lincoln Ladies left her battling for fitness ahead of the finals. Despite this, Williams was "more than pleased" to be named in the squad on 10 June 2011. At the final tournament, she headed the first goal of England's campaign in the 1–1 draw with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and also featured against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

before being rested for the final group game, a 2–0 victory over Japan. Williams played 120 minutes in the quarter-final exit to France. She was not among the penalty takers in England's

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 pe ...

defeat.

FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 - Edmonton (18821505113)

Williams earned her 100th Cap in 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 ...

against Switzerland on 1 March 2012. England won the game 1–0 with Williams proud to score the only goal of the game: "It's a massive achievement to reach 100 caps and getting the goal made it extra special." She was part of the England squad which performed poorly at

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the mos ...

and was eliminated in the first round. On 3 August 2014, Williams led the England team out against Sweden and became the most capped player in the history of English football, with 130 Caps. England won the match 4–0 in Hartlepool. At the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

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 ...

, Williams scored a 38th-minute

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

against Colombia, as England won 2–1 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

on 17 June. In the semi-final in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

on 2 July, Williams converted her second penalty of the tournament, in the 40th minute, to give England an equaliser against defending champions Japan. England lost the game 2–1. Two days later, and back in Edmonton, Williams scored another penalty, on this occasion in extra time, to give England the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over

. Her crucial goal gave England their first ever win over Germany and secured a bronze medal, the team's best ever finish at the FIFA Women's World Cup. Williams was not included in England's squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...

, but manager

Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teamma ...

said her international career was not over.

International goals

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''

Great Britain Olympic

In June 2012, Williams was named in an 18-player

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

squad for the

Personal life

Williams was homeless for six years during the early part of her football career. She was later employed by FA as a skills coach. She has worked for the Homeless FA charity as a coach at Manchester United's The Cliff, and helping to select the England team for the Homeless World Cup. Williams was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to women's football and charity. She supports

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football ...

In December 2015, she married former Everton teammate Amy Kane, but they separated a short time later.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Everton * FA Women's Premier League Cup: 2007–08 *

: 2009–10 Liverpool * FA WSL:

Arsenal *

: 2015–16 England *

Cyprus Cup The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in t ...

: 2009,

, 2015 *

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

runner-up: 2009 * FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2015 Individual * Liverpool Women's Player of the Season: 2015 * Women's Super League Hall of Fame: 2021

References

External links

Fara Williams
at the FA website
Everton FC official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fara 1984 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Everton F.C. (women) players Arsenal W.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. Women players Chelsea F.C. Women players Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players Reading F.C. Women players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic women's footballers of Great Britain Homeless people Footballers from Battersea Women's association football midfielders Association footballers' wives and girlfriends Members of the Order of the British Empire Lesbian sportswomen English LGBT sportspeople British LGBT footballers 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players