Vicky Exley (born 22 October 1975) is an English former international

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 ...

from

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

. She most recently played for

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 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 ...

, the top division of women's football in England. Exley also played over 50 times for England's national team.

Club career

Exley joined Sheffield Wednesday Ladies at the age of 15, moving to

three years later. She began her Belles career as a striker before switching back to a midfield playmaker role. Nicknamed ''Tricky'', Exley is renowned for her powerful shot. Despite scoring with a header, Exley was on the losing side in the 2000

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

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 ...

won 2–1. Two years later Exley featured in another Cup final defeat, this time to 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 2004 Doncaster Belles suffered an exodus of players after a financial crisis, however, Exley and Claire Utley chose to remain loyal to the club. In September 2004, Exley scored after four seconds of a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

tie against

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 ...

from inside her own half. During that 2004–05 season, Doncaster struggled and only retained their National Premier League status thanks to Exley scoring on the final day of the season. Exley was top scorer for Doncaster Belles in the following two seasons, winning the manager's Player of the Year award in 2006. In July 2008, Exley scored the only goal of the game as Doncaster beat Watford Ladies in the FA

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

Women's Cup, the competition being the first time that Doncaster had played Futsal. Exley scored 25 goals in all competitions during 2009–10 and was named in the Belles' 2011 FA WSL squad. She netted Doncaster's first goal in the new league, the winner at Lincoln Ladies'

Sincil Bank Sincil Bank Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as LNER Stadium, is a football stadium in Lincoln, England which has been the home of Lincoln City since 1895. Previously, Lincoln City had played at the nearby John O'Gaunts ground since th ...

on the opening night. Prior to the 2012 season Exley was released by Doncaster. In explaining his decision, manager John Buckley paid his own tribute, telling the

Doncaster Free Press The ''Doncaster Free Press'' is a weekly newspaper in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is owned by National World. Content of the newspaper The ''Free Press'', or ''DFP'' as it is sometimes known, is published each Thursday and is curr ...

: In May 2012 it was reported that Exley had decided to retire from football altogether. In June 2012 Exley served as a torch bearer in the

2012 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011. As well as touring the United Kingdom the schedule included the t ...

, as recognition for her services to playing and coaching football.

International career

Following her March 1996 debut, a 2–1 defeat in

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 ...

, Exley played a total of 52 times for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In September 2004 Exley captained England for the first time, marking the occasion with a goal in a 2–1 friendly win over

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 ...

. She appeared in the 2007 World Cup, scoring a penalty in the final group-stage game against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Exley then announced her retirement from international football in November 2007, stating her desire to go into coaching.

International goals

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''

Personal life

Exley supports

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and works as a postwoman.

References

External links

Vicky Exley
at Doncaster Rovers Belles {{DEFAULTSORT:Exley, Vicky 1975 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Footballers from Rotherham Women's association football midfielders 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players