Loren Dykes (born 5 February 1988) is a

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 ...

coach and player who is the assistant coach for

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 ...

and a player for Cardiff City and the

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 ...

. Dykes began her playing career as a winger or forward before being converted into a full-back. She won her 100th

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for Wales on 4 April 2019, in a friendly against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, at

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...

in Newport.

Early life

Dykes attended

Cwmtawe Community School Cwmtawe Community School (in Welsh: ''Ysgol Gymunedol Cwmtawe'') Formerly known as Pontardawe Technical School and Cwmtawe Comprehensive School, is a modern English-medium education comprehensive school in Pontardawe, South Wales. The school m ...

and also played for Llanelli Reds.

Club career

Dykes started with Cardiff City Ladies and featured in the

UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

with the Bluebirds, before signing for Bristol Academy during 2008–09. Dykes played in the 2011

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...

final as a winger, then in the 2013 final having retrained as a right-back. Bristol lost both finals to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In July 2020, Dykes announced that she would retire from playing club football and transition into her coaching career; however, she would remain available for selection for her national team.

International career

Dykes won 17 caps and scored four goals 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 ...

at U-19 level. She made her senior debut, aged 19, in a 2–1 defeat by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in August 2007. She played her 100th match for Wales in a friendly against

on 4 April 2019. While attending UWIC, Dykes was called up to represent Welsh universities in the Home Nations championship. Dykes was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to women's football in Wales.

Coaching career

Dykes became an assistant coach for her former club

in July 2020.

References

External links

*
Loren Dykes
at FAW * 1988 births Living people Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Wales women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Women's Super League players Cardiff City Ladies F.C. players Welsh women's footballers Women's association football fullbacks FIFA Women's Century Club Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Wales-women-footy-bio-stub