Heather Margaret Payne (born 26 January 2000) is an Irish professional

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 le ...

who plays for the Republic of Ireland women's national team and Everton in the

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 ...

Club career

After playing three seasons with Irish side Peamount United F.C. in the Irish Women's National League, Payne signed with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

in the English first division, the

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 ...

, in August 2018. In August 2019, after a season with Bristol, Payne moved to 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 territorie ...

to take up a college scholarship with the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

, who compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC). On 25 August 2023, following 4 years in the American college system, Payne signed for England's women's top tier

club Everton on a 2-year deal.

International

Payne was named to the

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 ...

senior squad for a

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. It ...

-qualifying match against

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 ...

in August 2018. She made her debut for the team on 31 August 2018 playing as a wing-back.

International appearances

International goals

:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goals first. Score column indicates score after each Payne goal. Updated as of 5 May 2023.''

Honours

Florida State Seminoles *

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

Bristol City profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Heather 2000 births Living people Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Republic of Ireland women's international footballers Expatriate women's footballers in England Bristol City W.F.C. players Women's Super League players Women's association football forwards Peamount United F.C. players Women's National League (Ireland) players Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Republic of Ireland expatriate women's association footballers Republic of Ireland women's youth international footballers Sportspeople from Ballinasloe People from Ballinasloe 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players