The Great Britain women's Olympic football team (also known as Team GB; or occasionally Great Britain and Northern Ireland) represents the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in the
women's football tournament at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
. Normally, no team represents the whole of the United Kingdom in women's football, as separate teams represent
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 ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Women's football was introduced to the Olympic Games in
1996, but Great Britain did not enter the football events at this time. This changed when the
2012 Summer 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 ...
were hosted by
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, as an Olympic football team was created to take the automatic qualifying place of the host nation. Following an agreement between the
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...
(BOA) and
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
(FA), which operates the England team, the FA selected the British team, which could include players from across the United Kingdom. The team reached the quarter-finals, losing 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 ...
.
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
stated that they would not allow entry of a British team in future Olympics unless all four Home Nations agreed. No agreement was reached ahead of the
2016 Summer Olympics, but a deal was formed for the
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
tournament. Great Britain qualified for that tournament, as England secured one of the top three places among European teams at the
2019 World Cup.
History
Background
When
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
(FA) was formed in 1863, its geographical remit was not clear: there was no specification of whether it covered just England, the entire UK or even the entire world. The question was answered when the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
(SFA) was founded in 1873. Football associations for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
(later Northern Ireland) were founded in 1876 and 1880 respectively. Football therefore developed with separate national teams representing each of the
countries of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Nor ...
and no 'United Kingdom football association' was ever formed. A
Great Britain Olympic football team
The Great Britain men's Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom at the Summer Olympic Games (where it competes as Great Britain, currently branded Team GB). The team is organised by the English Footb ...
was selected by the FA for men's Olympic football between 1908 and 1972, for amateur players, but the UK had stopped entering teams into the
Olympic football tournament
Football at the Summer Olympics, referred to as the Olympic Football Tournament, has been included in every Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition sport, except 1896 (the inaugural Games) and 1932 (in an attempt to promote the new FIFA Wo ...
by the time of the first women's football competition in
1996 due to The FA abolishing the distinction between amateurism and professionalism in 1972.
London 2012
![Great Britain Womens Football Team](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Great_Britain_Womens_Football_Team.jpg)
Due to London's
successful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the United Kingdom had the right to enter a team in the football tournament as host nation. The
British Olympic Association
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...
stated it would enter a football team, but the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
(SFA) refused even to attend meetings at which the
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
were to discuss the possibility
and the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...
withdrew from the negotiations.
In October 2007 the
Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became the Northern Ireland national football team.
...
(the association for Northern Ireland) also announced that they would not take part in a unified team, leaving
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
(England) as the only association willing to take part. It was reported that the other associations feared the loss of their privileged voting position within the
International Football Association Board
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardia ...
.
As England had reached the quarter-finals of the
2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...
, Great Britain had qualified for the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. They were unable to participate in the Games as the national football associations failed to reach an agreement, and they were replaced in the tournament by
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 ...
. Nevertheless, the BOA decided that a women's team would compete in London 2012.
Following an initial announcement in May 2009 of a compromise, in which the FA would select a team of only English players to compete at London, an FA statement in June 2011 claimed that after discussions with all British football associations and the BOA that they would enter a team selected from across the United Kingdom. That announcement angered the other British football associations, who claimed not to have been consulted on the decision, but the SFA admitted that it would have no grounds for preventing Scottish players from competing in the team. In November 2011 the
Professional Footballers' Association
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members.
The aims of ...
warned the SFA, FAW and IFA against trying to "intimidate" players into not taking part.
In June 2011
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 ...
striker
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 ...
, Scotland's record goalscorer, ruled herself out of contention. She concurred with the opinion of her father
Jim
Jim or JIM may refer to:
* Jim (given name), a given name
* Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James
* Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy
* OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism
* ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring
* ''Jim ...
—the SFA's director of football development—that participation may "jeopardise" the Scottish national team. Fleeting's teammate for club and country
Kim Little
Kim Alison Little (born 29 June 1990) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Arsenal of the English FA WSL. Before her retirement from international duty in 2021, Little was vice-captain of the Scotland women's n ...
took the opposite view: "I don't see why anyone would want to stop a player from playing at a massive tournament like the Olympics, it's the biggest sporting event ever. If I get the opportunity I'll grab it with both hands – I would definitely play."
Fellow Scots
Rachel Corsie
Rachel Louise Corsie (born 17 August 1989) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa W.F.C in the FA Women’s Super League (WSL). She is also the captain of the Scotland national team.
She previously play ...
and
Jen Beattie
Jennifer Patricia Beattie (born 13 May 1991) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for Arsenal of the FA WSL and the Scotland national team. Beattie is a tall, strong, right-footed player. Although typically a defender or midfielder ...
also expressed interest, as well as
Everton's Welsh winger
Gwennan Harries.
In October 2011,
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 ...
manager
Hope Powell
Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Britain ...
was appointed head coach of the women's team.
Powell began the process of selecting the squad by writing to all the players whom she wanted to consider for the team, offering them the opportunity to exclude themselves from consideration for the squad. It was confirmed in January 2012 that none of the players who had been contacted had asked to withdraw. In June 2012 ''
The Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant pop ...
'' reported that three
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
players had been selected in the final squad. One of the players concerned,
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
's
Sarah McFadden, dismissed the report: "I haven't received anything about being in final squad... Wish it was true but unfortunately not."
Results
![Team GB celebrating, women's football](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Team_GB_celebrating%2C_women%27s_football.jpg)
Great Britain were placed in Group E for the Olympic tournament prior to the draw, with their first two matches due to be played at the
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
. The draw was held on 24 April 2012 and added
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 ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
to Great Britain's group. Two days after the draw, it was announced that Great Britain's single warm-up game prior to the start of the tournament would be against
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 ...
at the
Riverside Stadium
The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...
,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
on 20 July.
The first ever game for the Great Britain women's Olympic football team was a behind closed doors training match win against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, part of the preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics. It took place in Birmingham, England on 15 July 2012. The first official game was a goalless draw against Sweden on 20 July.
;Friendlies
;Group stage
;Knockout stage
Rio 2016
After the team was eliminated from the 2012 Olympics, head coach
Hope Powell
Hope Patricia Powell, CBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English former international footballer and former women's first-team manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. She was the coach of the England women's national football team and the Great Britain ...
expressed her wish that a team would be entered in future Olympic tournaments. In June 2013, while giving evidence to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
' Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee, the Football Association indicated that they would be prepared to run women's teams at future Olympic tournaments subject to one of the home nations meeting the qualification criteria (i.e. being one of the top three European nations at the Women's World Cup). However, following strong objections from the
Scottish,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
and
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
football associations, and a commitment from
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
that they would not allow entry of a British team unless all four Home Nations agreed, the Football Association announced on 30 March 2015 that they would not seek entry into the
2016 Summer Olympics tournament. The third-place finish
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 ...
secured 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 ...
would have qualified Great Britain for the Olympics.
Tokyo 2020
In June 2015, British Olympic Association chief Bill Sweeney announced a campaign to get the team reinstated for the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
in Tokyo. In 2018,
Baroness Campbell, the FA's Head of Women's Football, indicated that there was a willingness on the part of the other three Home Nations to allow the Football Association the opportunity to run a football team for the 2020 Olympics. An agreement was reached between the four associations ahead of the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
that the highest ranked of the four home nations would be nominated to compete for the Olympic place. As a consequence, although both
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 ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
qualified for the
2019 World Cup (which is used by UEFA as the qualifying tournament for the Summer Olympics), only England were eligible to compete for an Olympic qualifying place. By reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup, England secured one of the three qualifying places allocated to UEFA.
Having originally announced that England 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 ...
would be appointed manager of Team GB Women for the 2020 Summer Olympics following England's successful ''de facto'' qualification performance at the 2019 World Cup, the FA announced in March 2021 that
Hege Riise
Hege Riise (born 18 July 1969) is a Norwegian football coach and former midfield player who is coaching the Norway women's national football team. One of the best footballers of her generation, she won the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Olympic Gam ...
, who had been appointed caretaker manager of England following Neville's premature departure earlier in the year, would be taking over the role.
Results
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the games were postponed to the summer of 2021. However, their official name remained 2020 Summer Olympics.
Great Britain were placed in pot two for the group stage draw based on the FIFA seeding for England who qualified on behalf of Great Britain. The team was drawn into Group E with host nation Japan, Canada and Chile. They had originally arranged one friendly in
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
against
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
who were preparing to make their Olympic debut. However, COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented them from entering the country and they were forced to withdraw.
While in Japan, Great Britain eventually managed to play a closed-doors training match a week prior to their opening group game, reportedly beating
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 ...
3–0 at the
Todoroki Athletics Stadium
The , or officially Todoroki Athletics Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Todoroki Ryokuchi in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Kawasaki Frontale. Unti ...
on 14 July.
;Friendlies
;Group stage
;Knockout stage
Team image
Crest
The IOC governing body prohibits the use of any crests attributed to specific football associations or federations as they are seen to represent separate commercial interests rather than the nations. Where teams would normally use association crests they instead use the emblems of their respective national Olympic associations. Great Britain women's Olympic football team wears the logo of
Team GB
Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. I ...
. The crest features the head of a lion, a traditional animal in
British heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
that forms part of the
Royal coat of arms. The lion's blue and red mane is stylised to create a
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
. Beneath the lion is the Team GB wordmark which was developed in 1996 as a way of better unifying British athletes from all sports under one clearly defined sporting brand. Below the wordmark are the
Olympic rings
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
.
Kits
Both the 2012 and 2020 kits were supplied by
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
, the licensed sportswear partners of Team GB since 1984. They are part of the larger collection of uniforms designed for British athletes across all sports for each individual Olympics.
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and the late American photographer and animals rights activist Linda McCartney. Like her parents, McCa ...
designed the 2012 range. Adidas' in-house design team created the 2020 kits.
* London 2012
* Tokyo 2020
Players
2020 Olympics squad
* The following players were named in the squad for the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
. The squad, consisting of 19 English, one Welsh and two Scottish players, was originally announced on 27 May 2021 and included five players (
Karen Bardsley
Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is a US-born English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
She played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women's Professional Soccer league, Linköpings FC in the Swedish Dama ...
,
Steph Houghton
Stephanie Jayne Darby (, , born 23 April 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England women's national team. At club level, Houghton started at Sunderland in her native Nor ...
,
Kim Little
Kim Alison Little (born 29 June 1990) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Arsenal of the English FA WSL. Before her retirement from international duty in 2021, Little was vice-captain of the Scotland women's n ...
,
Jill Scott and
Ellen White) from the 2012 tournament.
On 18 June 2021,
Carly Telford
Carly Mitchell Telford (born 7 July 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for San Diego Wave and the England national team.
Club career
Telford joined Leeds United Ladies in 2007 from relegated club Sunderland. In May of t ...
was called up to replace the injured
Karen Bardsley
Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is a US-born English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
She played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women's Professional Soccer league, Linköpings FC in the Swedish Dama ...
before the start of the tournament.
* On 1 July 2021, the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
and
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
confirmed rosters would be expanded from 18 to 22 meaning the four reserve players (
Sandy MacIver
Alexandra Elena MacIver (born 18 June 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the England women's national team.
Club career Youth career
MacIver began her youth ...
,
Lotte Wubben-Moy
Carlotte Mae Wubben-Moy, known as Lotte Wubben-Moy, (; born 11 January 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Arsenal in the FA Women's Super League and the English national team. She previously played college ...
,
Niamh Charles
Niamh Louise Charles (born 21 June 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the England women's national team.
Early career
Charles grew up on the Wirral in Merseyside an ...
and
Ella Toone
Ella Ann Toone (born 2 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Manchester United and England.
Toone has previously played for Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, and has re ...
) would be available for selection to the matchday squad.
* ''Caps and goals updated as of 30 July 2021.''
Head coach:
Hege Riise
Hege Riise (born 18 July 1969) is a Norwegian football coach and former midfield player who is coaching the Norway women's national football team. One of the best footballers of her generation, she won the FIFA Women's World Cup, the Olympic Gam ...
, -----
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, ----- bgcolor="#DFEDFD"
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! colspan="9" bgcolor="#B0D3FB" align="left" ,
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Previous squads
;London 2012
Managerial history
''Statistics correct as of match played 30 July 2021''
Records
Most capped players
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
Olympic Games
:''*Red border colour denotes tournament was held on home soil.''
See also
*
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 ...
*
Northern Ireland women's national football team
*
Scotland women's national football team
The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
*
Wales women's national football team
The Wales national women's football team ( cy, Tîm pêl-droed merched cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the th ...
*
Great Britain men's Olympic football team
The Great Britain men's Olympic football team is the men's football team that represents the United Kingdom at the Summer Olympic Games (where it competes as Great Britain, currently branded Team GB). The team is organised by the English Foot ...
References
External links
{{Football in the United Kingdom
European Olympic national association football teams
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
Controversies in the United Kingdom
2012 establishments in the United Kingdom