Leandra Faye Little (born 8 November 1984) is an English former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 most recently played as a defender for Sheffield United of 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 ...

. A former PE

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, she is the education lead at the Liverpool F.C. Women's Academy and an education welfare officer for

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 ...

Basketball

Prior to her football career, Little represented the

England women's national basketball team The England women's national basketball team represents England in international basketball competitions. The team is organized by England Basketball, the sport's governing body in England. In 2005 England, along with the basketballscotland and ...

and played for the

City of Sheffield Hatters The Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters are a Women's Basketball club from Sheffield, England, who play their home games at All Saints Catholic High School's Sports Centre. The club have been mainstays of the women's game in England for many y ...

from 2003 to 2007. Disappointed to be left off the longlist for the

Great Britain women's national basketball team The Great Britain women's national basketball team represents Great Britain in international women's basketball. The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national basketball organisations of England (Basketball Engla ...

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 ...

, Little decided to play football instead.

Football

In 2007 Little joined

Lincoln Ladies Notts County Ladies Football Club was a women's football club based in Nottingham, England. Like the club's male affiliate Notts County FC, they played their home games at Meadow Lane. Notts County Ladies were created in 2014 when Lincoln L ...

, becoming an important defender in the team which consistently challenged for promotion from the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division. When Lincoln were accepted into 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 ...

, Little performed well in the inaugural 2011 season, being named Manager's Player of the Year. In December 2011, Little transferred to Lincoln's FA WSL rivals Doncaster Rovers Belles. In six years with the South Yorkshire outfit, she rose to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

status and grew to love the club: "They hold a dear place in my heart". Although Little helped Doncaster win the 2017–18 FA WSL 2 title, the impecunious fallen giants were refused a WSL license for the following season and consigned to the

FA Women's National League The FA Women's National League, formerly WFA National League and FA Women's Premier League (WPL), is a group of six football divisions run by the English Football Association. Founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, the League includ ...

References

External links

Doncaster Rovers Belles player profile
* * 1984 births Living people English women's footballers Women's association football defenders Women's Super League players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. Women players Sheffield United F.C. Women players English women's basketball players FA Women's National League players People from Brixham Notts County L.F.C. players Footballers from Devon {{UK-basketball-bio-stub