Sophie Katrina Walton (born 7 November 1989) is an English retired

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 played as a midfielder. She played for Leeds United, Notts County, Doncaster Rovers Belles, and Sheffield United. She represented England at youth level.

Club career

Walton grew up in Sherburn-in-Elmet and played football for Sherburn White Rose before joining Leeds United under-12s at the age of nine. In September 2005, she made her Premier League debut for Leeds in a 2–0 defeat at Charlton Athletic. On 11 February 2010 Walton started a 3–1 Premier League Cup final win over Everton, to help Leeds win their first major silverware, following defeats in the FA Women's Cup finals of 2006 and 2008, as well as the Premier League Cup final in 2007. When Leeds failed to gain entry to the new

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 ...

, Walton reportedly signed for local rivals Doncaster Rovers Belles. But when the inaugural

2011 FA WSL The 2011 FA WSL was the inaugural season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 13 April 2011 and ended on 28 August 2011. The league also took a break between 12 May and mid-July to allow preparatio ...

season started, Walton instead lined up for

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 ...

. She remained with the club after their relocation to Notts County for the

2014 FA WSL The 2014 FA WSL was the fourth season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 30 March and ended on 12 October. Liverpool L.F.C. are the defending champions from the 2013 FA WSL. The top two teams q ...

season, and played in the

2015 FA Women's Cup Final The 2015 FA Women's Cup Final was the 45th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. The showpiece event was the 22nd to be played directly under the auspices of the Football Association (FA) and ...

, a 1–0 defeat by Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. Walton left Notts County on the expiry of her contract and sat out the 2016 season due to pregnancy and childbirth. She agreed to join FA WSL 2 club Doncaster Rovers Belles in January 2017. Doncaster Rovers Belles won the WSL 2 league title but renounced their place in the new

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 ...

, sparking a player exodus which saw Walton join Guiseley Vixens in July 2018. She retired in April 2022.

International career

Walton represented England at Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-23 level, as well as at the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

in Chile.

Personal life

Her older brother

Simon Walton Simon William Walton (born 13 September 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Havant & Waterlooville. He has played in the Football League for Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, Hull City, Ply ...

is also a footballer, who began his own career at Leeds United. In August 2016 Walton gave birth to a son Alfie-J, with her footballer partner

Jake Cassidy Jake Ashley Cassidy (born 9 February 1993) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Ossett United. He made well over 100 appearances in the Football League playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tranmere Rovers, Notts ...

. She graduated from Leeds Beckett University with a business management degree and founded a modelling agency at the age of 23, which she later put on hold to focus on football. Both Sophie and Simon Walton studied at Boston Spa Academy during their time as Leeds United Academy scholars.

References

External links

* *
Doncaster Rovers Belles player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Sophie Living people 1989 births English women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Women's Super League players FA Women's National League players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Notts County L.F.C. players Leeds United Women F.C. players Footballers from Leeds People from Sherburn in Elmet People educated at Boston Spa Academy Sheffield United F.C. Women players Women's Championship (England) players Leeds City Vixens L.F.C. players Nottingham Forest Women F.C. players England women's youth international footballers England women's under-23 international footballers