Rio Hardy (born 29 June 1996) is an English

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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or striker for Rangers.

Early life

Hardy grew up in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

, England, and attended the Stainburn School in the town.

Youth career

As a youth player, Hardy joined the youth academy of Seaton Girls, helping the club win the County Cup. After that, she joined the youth academy of English side Blackburn Rovers, helping the club reach the FA Youth Cup final, where they lost to the youth academy of English side Arsenal.

College career

In 2014, Hardy joined the

South Alabama Jaguars The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference; it is the conference's only remaining charter member from its inception. USA's athletics t ...

in the United States, where she was regarded as one of the team's most important players. She obtained a sports science degree. She previously attended college in

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

, England.

Club career

In 2018, she signed for Icelandic side

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula (Iceland), Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn (mountain), Þorbjörn. It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in ...

, where she was regarded as one of the club's most important players. She helped them win the league and qualify for the

UEFA Women's Champions League 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 ...

. In 2019, she signed for Cypriot side Apollon Ladies, where she captained the club and was regarded as one of their most important players. In 2021, she signed for English side

Coventry United Coventry United Football Club is an English association football club based in Coventry in the West Midlands. The team competes in the , the 9th tier of English football and are managed by Carl Nolan The club was founded in 2013 by chairman J ...

, where she was regarded as one of the club's most important goalscorers, but left due to their liquidation. In 2022, she trained with English side Aston Villa. In 2023, she signed for Scottish side Rangers.

International career

Hardy played for England Colleges at international youth level.

Personal life

Hardy is the twin sister of English footballer Steffi Hardy. She is a supporter of English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Her family has been based in

, England.

References

1996 births Apollon Ladies F.C. players Coventry United F.C. players Durham W.F.C. players English expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus English expatriate sportspeople in Iceland English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate women's footballers English women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Grindavík women's football players Living people South Alabama Jaguars women's soccer players Women's association football forwards Women's association football midfielders Footballers from Rotherham Sportspeople from Workington {{England-women-footy-bio-stub