Kelly Chambers is an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former player who currently manages

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 ...

of the

FA 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 ...

(FA WSL). She is also Reading's

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

. As a player, Chambers captained Reading while they were playing in the lower leagues.

Playing career

As a player, Chambers captained

; however, her playing career ended after an anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2012.

Managerial career

After her retirement, Chambers was appointed Director of Women's and Girls football, and has remained in this role ever since. Originally, Chambers became manager of Reading whilst in the third tier of English football. After gaining promotion to the WSL 2, now known as the

FA Women's Championship The Women's Championship (formerly The FA Women's Championship) is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The division was established in 2014 as the FA Women's Super League 2 (WSL 2). WSL 2 replaced the previous level 2 d ...

Jayne Ludlow Jayne Louise Ludlow (born 7 January 1979) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is currently the technical director of Manchester City Girls' Academy. In 2018, she was inducted on to the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame Roll of Honour alo ...

was appointed manager. Ludlow guided Reading to a third-place finish in the 2014 WSL 2 season, however stepped down at the end of the season to manage the Wales National Women's Team. Chambers has been manager ever since. Chambers won the 2015 WSL 2 division, earning Reading a promotion to the top flight. Chambers' Reading finished the season, level on points with

Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admin ...

who also got promoted, but with a goal difference of +46 - four higher than Doncaster who had +42. What made the title victory so impressive, was that it was with a group of players who also had part-time jobs. Her first season in the WSL, Chambers managed to avoid relegation. Despite only winning one game all season, Reading managed to finish above Doncaster who were relegated. The 2017/18 WSL season was Reading's highest finish in club history. Chambers secured a fourth-place finish, with a total of 32 points in 18 games. Since then, Chambers has failed to recreate the success of that season. Her following two seasons ( 2018/19, 2019/20) both resulted in a fifth-place finish. In December 2018, Chambers won the November 2018 LMA (League Managers Association) Manager of the Month Award. Victories against

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 ...

Brighton and 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 ...

and Everton, saw Chambers' side take maximum points in November, and jump two places in the table.

Personal life

Chambers has a daughter. She also attended Whiteknights primary school in Shinfield.

Managerial Statistics

References

1986 births Living people English women's footballers Reading F.C. Women players English women's football managers Reading F.C. Women managers Women's Super League managers Place of birth missing (living people) Women's association footballers not categorized by position {{England-women-footy-bio-stub