Millie Bright (born 21 August 1993) is an English 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 ...

who plays as a defender for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and the England national team. She previously played for

Doncaster Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

, Leeds Ladies and represented England on the under-19 and under-23 national teams. Bright was named Vauxhall England Young Player of the Year in 2016. With Chelsea, she won three league titles in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, 2017–18, and 2019–20, as well as the

and 2017–18 FA Women's Cup. In 2020, she helped the club win the

2020 Women's FA Community Shield The 2020 Women's FA Community Shield was the ninth Women's FA Community Shield, and the first after the competition's revival following an eleven-season abeyance. As with its male equivalent, the Community Shield is an annual football match play ...

. Bright was named to the PFA Team of the Year for the 2017–18 and 2019–20 seasons. In 2020, she was named to the FIFA FIFPro Women's World11.

Early life

Born in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

region of England, Bright spent her youngest years immersed in

equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, Driving (horse), driving, and Equestrian vaulting, vaulting ...

. She developed pneumonia as a baby and spent some of her early childhood in the hospital with bouts of asthma. As a youth, Bright attended Sheffield Road School and Killamarsh Junior School, followed by Eckington School. Bright began playing football at age nine. After watching a friend play for Killamarsh Dynamos, a local team in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, she decided to join. She was later scouted by

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and joined their academy team until age 16 before moving to

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 ...

in 2009.

Club career

2009–2015: Doncaster Rovers Belles

Described by the club as "a tall, powerful, athletic striker with an good eye for goal," Bright made her Belles debut as a substitute against

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

at the

Keepmoat Stadium The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that i ...

in August 2009. She scored her first goal on the occasion of her first start, in the following month's 5–0

FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...

win at Leeds City Vixens. She was awarded a contract for the inaugural 2011 season of 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 ...

, making five substitute appearances. At her own request, Bright then went on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

in their 2011–12 FA Women's Premier League season and debuted on her 18th birthday, scoring a goal after entering play as a substitute. When Bright returned to Doncaster she had developed into a regular first team starter. Bright was critical of

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 ...

's decision to demote Doncaster Rovers Belles from the WSL in favour of Manchester City one game into the 2013 season: "It was heartbreaking. It felt like we weren't respected or even wanted in the league, purely based on money. It should be about the level you play at, not how much money you have. That season, we just felt what's the point?"

2015–: Chelsea

In December 2014, Bright signed with

ahead of the 2015 season. Chelsea assistant manager Paul Green said of the signing, "Millie is a great character and a young player who is hungry to develop and improve her game. She has a lot of experience for a 21-year-old and has already played a lot of games in the FA WSL and knows what the league is all about. She will add strength and physicality to the squad and I’m sure that she will prove to be a good addition to this talented group of players as we look to build on last season’s achievements." Chelsea finished in first place during the regular season with a record and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League for the second time in the team's history. Bright made fourteen appearances for Chelsea during the 2015 season tallying a total of 906 minutes. She was named Chelsea Players’ Player of the Year by her teammates. During the 2016 season, Bright was a starting defender in all 15 games that she played and scored a goal in the team's 5–0 win over Sunderland. Chelsea finished in second place with a record. Bright was Chelsea's starting left-side defender for the 2017 FA WSL Spring Series and helped lead the defensive line to concede only five goals in all competitions. She scored two goals during attacking set-pieces against Bristol and Arsenal. Chelsea won the Spring Series with a record. In August 2018, Bright signed a new three-year contract with Chelsea. Of the signing, she said, "I just want to be a successful player and to help my team-mates and this football club win more trophies. We've already won a few in my time here and hopefully we can continue that and keep winning things, and I hope the Champions League is one of those trophies. We made a big statement in the competition last season and we're ready to keep developing and take the next step." During the

2019–20 FA WSL The 2019–20 FA WSL season (also known as the Barclays FA Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth edition of the FA Women's Super League (WSL) since it was formed in 2010. It was the second season after the rebranding of the ...

season, Bright was named the league's Player of the Month for December after she scored and provided an assist against Birmingham and led the Chelsea defense in a shut-out against Manchester United. Chelsea won the regular season with a record as well as the

2019–20 FA Women's League Cup The 2019–20 FA Women's League Cup was the ninth edition of the FA Women's Super League and FA Women's Championship's league cup competition. It was sponsored by Continental AG, who sponsored the competition since its creation, and is officiall ...

after defeating Arsenal 2–1 in the Final. When the

was played for the first time since 2008, Bright scored Chelsea's game-winning goal from long range during the team's 2–0 over Manchester City.

International career

Bright has represented England on the senior national team as well as numerous youth national teams, including the under-19 and under-23 national team squads. In June 2016, she scored a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

goal against the United States during the final game of the Nordic Cup. Bright earned her first

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 the senior England national team in September 2016, as a last-minute substitute in a 2–0 win over

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In February 2019, Bright pulled out of the England squad for the

SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017 and 2018), it was contested by the same four teams: the United ...

due to injury, and was replaced by

Gemma Bonner Gemma Bonner (born 13 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liverpool, as well as the England women's national football team. Bonner began her career with her hometown club Leeds United, before spending ...

In May 2019, Bright was selected to represent England at the

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 ...

in France. She played in two of the three group matches as well as in the Round of 16, Quarter Final and Semi Final. She was sent off in the 2–1 semifinal loss 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 ...

after receiving a second yellow card. She captained England for the first time in a friendly game against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on 13 April 2021. She was again called on to captain the squad by head coach

Sarina Wiegman Sarina Petronella Wiegman (; born 26 October 1969), also known as Sarina Wiegman-Glotzbach, is a Dutch football manager and former player who has been the manager of the England women's national team since September 2021. In her playing care ...

in the two November World Cup qualifiers against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. In June 2022, Bright was included in the England squad which won

UEFA Women's Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UE ...

Career statistics

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 11 July 2022.''

International goals

:''As of match played 11 July 2022. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bright goal.''

Honours

Chelsea *

, Spring Series, 2017–18, 2019–20,

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 *

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 ...

: 2014–15, 2017–18

, 2021–22 *

FA Women's League Cup The FA Women's League Cup is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pri ...

: 2019–20,

* FA Community Shield:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* UEFA Women's Champion's League runners-up:

England *

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Arnold Clark Cup The Arnold Clark Cup is an invitational women's association football tournament hosted by The Football Association, starting in 2022. It is named after car retailer Arnold Clark, who signed a multi-year sponsorship deal. ITV acts as the competiti ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Individual * Vauxhall England Young Player of the Year: 2016 * FA WSL PFA Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2021–22 *

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 ...

Player of the Month: December, 2019 * FIFA FIFPro Women's World11: 2020, 2021 *

Golden Boot:

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom o ...

(announced 1 August 2022)

References

External links

Profile
at the Chelsea F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bright, Millie 1993 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers England women's under-23 international footballers Olympic footballers of Great Britain Women's association football midfielders Chelsea F.C. Women players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Women's Super League players People from Killamarsh Footballers from Derbyshire Sheffield United W.F.C. players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Championship-winning players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players