Pauline Cope (born 16 February 1969), whose married name is Pauline Cope-Boanas, is an English former

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. She won 60 caps for the England women's national football team between her debut in 1995 and retirement from international football in 2004. Cope was England's first choice goalkeeper at the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

and

UEFA Women's Euro 2001 The 2001 UEFA Women's Championship was the eighth UEFA Women's Championship, a competition for the women's national football teams and member associations of UEFA. It took place in Germany between 23 June and 7 July 2001. It was won by Germany wi ...

Ted Copeland Ted Copeland is an English former football coach. He managed the England women's side between 1993 and 1998, leading them to a quarter-final appearance in the 1995 World Cup. Copeland spent 12 years working as a lecturer in physical education a ...

, England's

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at the former competition, described Cope as the best female goalkeeper in the world. Having started playing with Millwall Lionesses in her native

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, Cope remained until 1998. Her time at the club was interspersed with two separate spells with

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 ...

and a season out of football in 1993–94. She moved on to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, who came under the auspices of Charlton Athletic in 2000. Cope finished her club career playing for Charlton under the management of partner and future

husband A husband is a male in a marital relationship, who may also be referred to as a spouse. The rights and obligations of a husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between societies and cultures, ...

Keith Boanas Keith Robert Boanas (born 22 April 1959) is an English football manager. Playing career Boanas has played and coached on the semi-professional circuit, Boanas made three substitute appearances for Tooting & Mitcham United after being appointe ...

, retiring in 2006. A

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

champion on three occasions, Cope won the FA Women's Cup four times and was a losing finalist twice.

Club career

At club level Cope won the FA Women's Cup with Millwall Lionesses,

and

and in May 2004 played in goal for Charlton in their 3–0 final defeat against Arsenal. In the

2000 FA Women's Cup Final The 2000 FA Women's Cup Final was the 30th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. It was the seventh final to be held under the direct control of the Football Association (FA). The match was cont ...

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

, Cope saved 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. ...

from her England teammate Karen Walker as Croydon beat Doncaster Belles 2–1. As Croydon celebrated their win, Cope revealed a

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

bearing the legend: "I love my Keith." The following week Croydon beat

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

6–0 to win the league and clinch a domestic

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

. In 2003 Cope was employed as a full-time girls' development officer with Charlton Athletic. The position allowed her to improve the way she trained: "I'm in the best position in women's football in Europe. Maybe even the world, because I get to train day-in day-out with

Dean Kiely Dean Laurence Kiely (born 10 October 1970) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the goalkeeping coach at Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Republic of Ireland national team. Born in England, he won elev ...

, who's one of the best keepers around." She played in Charlton's 3–0 defeat to full-time professional

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in the 2003 FA Women's Cup Final. A fortnight after helping Charlton beat Arsenal 2–1 in the 2006 Premier League Cup final, 37-year-old Cope produced a vintage performance in the FA Women's Cup semi final but Charlton lost 2–1 to the same opponents. Having watched his side score a late winner in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

, Arsenal manager

Vic Akers Victor David Akers, OBE (born 24 August 1946) is a football manager and former player who was most recently the assistant manager at Boreham Wood. Akers played as a left back. He was also manager of Arsenal Ladies winning numerous trophies wit ...

declared: "Pauline Cope was absolutely outstanding." Cope then retired from club football at the end of the 2005–06 season. After her final game, a 1–0 defeat at Everton which consigned Charlton to third place in the table, club

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 ...

Casey Stoney said of Cope: "If I'm honest I don't think she can be replaced. She's the best goalkeeper I've ever seen."

International career

Cope played 60 times for the senior England women's national football team, making her debut in a 1–1

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

draw with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

on 26 January 1995. By the time of the

, held in Sweden during June 1995, she had displaced former Millwall teammate

Lesley Higgs Lesley Higgs (née Shipp; born 25 October 1965) is an English former international women's football goalkeeper. She appeared for England in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals. Club career While playing for Arsenal, Higgs was Player of the Ma ...

as England's first choice goalkeeper. At the tournament it was reported that Cope's performances in comprehensive defeats by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

had averted "hideous embarrassment" for the outmatched English team. National coach Ted Copeland described her as "the best keeper in the world." In October 2000, goalkeeping understudy

Rachel Brown Rachel Brown (born 2 July 1980) is an English former football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1995 to 1998 and Everton from 2003 until 2014. A product of the American college system, Brown spent five years playing varsity soccer for ...

played in the

qualification play-off in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

when Cope was struck down with a stomach complaint on the morning of the game. Cope was restored to the team for the final tournament and played in all three games as England went out in the group stage. In April 2004 Cope unexpectedly retired from international football. In 2008, she was inducted into the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...

Coaching career

In September 2015 Cope joined Gillingham Ladies as a goalkeeper

Personal life

Cope is the wife of former

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

women's team coach

and stepmother to Sonny and Kari Boanas. Despite her long association with Millwall's female section, Cope remains a West Ham United supporter.

Honours

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991 until 2010, the National Division functioned as the top league in English women's football. Durin ...

: 3 : 1994–95, 1998–99, 1999–00 * FA Women's Cup: 4 :1994–95, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2004–05 *

Women's 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 included ...

: 4 :1993–94, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2005–06

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Pauline Living people 1969 births English women's footballers English Football Hall of Fame inductees England women's international footballers Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. players Arsenal W.F.C. players Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players FA Women's National League players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football goalkeepers