Laura Marie Rafferty (born 29 April 1996) is a Northern 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 as a defender for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in 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 ...

and the Northern Ireland national team. She previously played for

Chelsea L.F.C. Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

Early life

Rafferty began playing football for a local team at the age of eight. After scoring 50 goals in 8 games, she reported being "chucked out of the league." She played for eight years with the Southampton F.C. Academy as well as the Hampshire Centre of Excellence before moving to

Club career

Rafferty started her senior career in 2014 at

Chelsea F.C. Women Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

. She spent part of 2016 on loan at

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

. After three seasons with Chelsea F.C. Women with limited game time, Rafferty signed with

Brighton & 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 ...

in the

FA WSL 2 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 ...

in January 2017 for the 2017 Spring Series. The team has since moved up to England's top flight, 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 September 2020 Rafferty joined

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 ...

on loan for the 2020–21 season. Bristol finished bottom of the WSL table and were relegated to the

. On 5 July 2021 Rafferty joined third-tier,

after being released by Brighton. Saints were promoted in the 2021–22 season to the

, Tier 2 of the English football pyramid.

International career

Rafferty made her debut for the Northern Ireland national team on 6 March 2013 in a match against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

References

External links

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FAWNL stats
* 1996 births Living people Women's Super League players Chelsea F.C. Women players Northern Ireland women's international footballers Women's association football defenders Women's association footballers from Northern Ireland Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players Oxford United W.F.C. players Footballers from Southampton English women's footballers English people of Northern Ireland descent UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players Women's Championship (England) players Southampton F.C. Women players {{England-women-footy-bio-stub