Megan Campbell (born 28 June 1993) is an Irish 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

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

for

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 t ...

club

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

and as a left back for the Republic of Ireland women's national team. She has previously played for St. Francis, Raheny United, Florida State Seminoles and Manchester City. In 2010, she was a member of the Republic of Ireland U-17 squad that were runners-up at the

2010 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The 2010 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship football tournament took place between 8 April and 26 June. Germany was the defending champion. Spain won the final on penalties 4–1 against the Republic of Ireland. Spain, Ireland and third place ...

and quarter-finalists at the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Campbell is known as a long throw-in specialist and has been compared to

Rory Delap Rory John Delap (born 6 July 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he made 11 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team. Delap started his career at Carlisle United and impressed en ...

Early life

Campbell was born in Drogheda, County Louth and is the daughter of Eamonn and Suzanne Campbell. She is a granddaughter of

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-ye ...

lead guitarist,

Eamonn Campbell Eamonn Campbell (29 November 1946 – 18 October 2017) was an Irish musician who was a member of The Dubliners from 1987 until his death. He was also in the Dubliners when they recorded their 25th anniversary show on '' The Late Late Show'' hos ...

. She has three sisters – Jaymee, Dawn and Jade. She grew up on Drogheda's Scarlet Street and was educated at Our Lady's College, Greenhills and at the

Institute of Technology, Carlow The Institute of Technology, Carlow (IT Carlow; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Cheatharlach) was an institute of technology, located in Carlow, Ireland. The institute had campuses in Carlow, Wexford, and Wicklow, as well as a part-time prov ...

. She also played youth football with local Drogheda teams – Grove Rangers, Boyne Rovers and Moneymore.

Playing career

St Francis

In 2009, four weeks after turning 16, Campbell came on as a substitute for St Francis in the

FAI Women's Cup The Football Association of Ireland Women's Cup is the senior cup competition for women's association football in the Republic of Ireland. It is commonly known as the Women's FAI Cup, the WFAI Cup, or prior to 2001, the Ladies FAI Cup or the LFAI ...

final against St Catherine's. Her teammates included

Grainne Kierans Gráinne Kierans (born 20 September 1978) is an Irish football coach and former player who was the head coach of Shamrock Rovers team who play in the Women's National League (Ireland). Kierans, the holder of a UEFA A licence, played as a midfi ...

and

Mary Waldron Mary Veronica Waldron (born 5 May 1984) is an Irish association football player and cricketer who has represented both the Republic of Ireland women's national football team and the Ireland women's cricket team. She has also stood as an umpire ...

. Campbell also played for St Francis in the 2009–10 and

2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League was the tenth edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final was held in London, England on 26 May 2011 at Craven Cottage. French side Olympique Lyon won the competition af ...

group stage tournaments.

Raheny United

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Campbell was a member of the Raheny United team that won an

and Women's National League double. In October 2012, Raheny United defeated

Peamount United Peamount United Football Club () is an Irish association football club based in Newcastle, South Dublin. The club is best known for its senior women's team who in 2011–12 became founder members and inaugural champions of the Women's National ...

2–1 in the FAI Women's Cup final at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known ...

before going on to win the WNL title. Campbell was subsequently named in the 2012–13 WNL Team of the Season. Campbell's teammates at Raheny United included

, Noelle Murray, Ciara Grant and Siobhán Killeen.

Florida State Seminoles

In 2013 Campbell began playing for Florida State Seminoles after obtaining a scholarship to Florida State University, where she majored in social science. In her first three seasons with Florida State she has played in at least 60 games, excluding friendlies, and was credited with 31 assists. Between 2013 and 2015 she helped Florida State win three consecutive

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

titles. In 2014 Campbell was named in the ACC All-Tournament Team and in the 2015 ACC final she scored in the penalty shoot-out against Virginia Cavaliers. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Florida State were also runners up in the

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...

before going on to win the title in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. In 2015 Campbell acted as a recruiter for Florida State when she approached fellow

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

women's youth international, Megan Connolly, about playing for the Seminoles. Campbell had been described as a senior in Florida State Seminoles' 2014 title-winning season and had been expected to feature in the

2015 NWSL College Draft The 2015 NWSL College Draft was the third annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 16, 2015 at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA. Format *Draft order wa ...

. But it was discovered she had another year of college eligibility remaining and wished to use that instead. After completing her college career, Campbell was also "noticeably absent" from the

2016 NWSL College Draft Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film d ...

Manchester City

20171004 UWCL SKN-MCW StPoelten Megan Campbell 850 1282

In February 2016 Campbell became Manchester City's fourth signing of the off-season, announcing that she had signed a professional contract with the English

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 ...

contenders. She won a domestic treble with the club, then signed a contract extension in June 2017. Campbell had played particularly well in the

2017 FA Women's Cup Final The 2017 FA Women's Cup Final was the 47th final of the FA Women's Cup, England's primary cup competition for women's football teams. The showpiece event was the 24th to be played directly under the auspices of the Football Association (FA) and ...

, serving two assists as Manchester City beat

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

4–1 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

. She suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in November 2017 during a

match against

LSK Kvinner FK LSK Kvinner Fotballklubb is a Norwegian women's football club from Lillestrøm. They currently play in Toppserien, the top division of Norwegian football. The club was founded as Setskog/Høland Fotballklubb on 10 October 1989. History The c ...

and was ruled out for several months. In June 2020 she signed a new one-year contract with Manchester City while recovering from another long-term injury, this time to tendons in her foot.

Liverpool

In June 2021,

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 ...

club

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

signed Campbell, after her five-year spell at Manchester City. She overcame some injury-related absence in the first part of the 2021–22 season to become an important member of the title-winning Liverpool team who won

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

back to the

. She signed a new contract with Liverpool in June 2022.

International career

Youth

Campbell has represented the

at U-17, U-19 and senior level. In 2010 she was a member of the Republic of Ireland U-17 squad that were runners-up in the

and quarter-finalists in the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. In the UEFA championship, Campbell scored twice: the winner in 2–1 group victory against Sweden and the semi-final goal in the 1–0 win over

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 ...

. In the World Cup, Campbell scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Senior

Campbell played for a senior Republic of Ireland team of home-based players in a behind closed doors match against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. She then won her first official

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 ...

in a friendly against Switzerland at

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

in August 2011. Campbell came on as substitute for

Louise Quinn Louise Quinn (born 17 June 1990) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for the Women's Championship club Birmingham City and the Ireland national soccer team. At club level Quinn began her senior career with Peamount ...

after 62 minutes during the 1–0 defeat by the Swiss. On 5 April 2014 in a 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier against

Tallaght Stadium Tallaght Stadium ( ga, Staid Thamhlachta) is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club Shamrock Rovers originally announced details of the stadium in July, 1996. The stadium is now o ...

, Campbell provided two assists with throw-ins. Despite Campbell's effort the Republic of Ireland lost 3–2. After a two-year absence due to injuries, Campbell was called up to the senior

squad again in February 2022, for the

2022 Pinatar Cup The 2022 Pinatar Cup was the second edition of the Pinatar Cup, an international women's football friendly tournament, that was held from 16 to 22 February 2022 in San Pedro del Pinatar, Region of Murcia, Spain. Format The eight invited teams ...

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

. On 1 September 2022 Campbell started her first competitive national team match for three years in Ireland's

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

-securing 1–0

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A UEFA Group A of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification competition consists of five teams: Sweden, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, and Georgia. The composition of the nine groups in the qualifying group stage was decided by the draw h ...

win over

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

International goals

:''Scores and results list Republic of Ireland's goal tally first.''

Playing style

According to her Liverpool manager

Matt Beard Matthew Beard (born 9 January 1978) is an English professional football manager, who is currently head coach of FA Women's Super League club Liverpool FC Women. He has managed the side previously, as well as the women's teams of Bristol City ...

, Campbell is an adaptable left-sided defensive player: "Meg offers a bit of versatility as she can play centre-back or left-back". Throughout her career she has been renowned as a long throw-in specialist: "Fortunately, my arms are quite hyper-mobile and can go further back than the average person". In 2020 Campbell declared that she wanted to be known for more than her exceptionally long throw-ins and persistent injuries.

Honours

Megan the Throw-in Maestro (15354022837)

Individual

* 2012–13 WNL Team of the Season * 2014 ACC All-Tournament Team

Team

Manchester City *

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 ...

: 2019-20 ; St Francis *

**''Winner'': 2009 ; Raheny United * Women's National League **''Winner'':

**''Winner'': 2012 ; Florida State Seminoles *

**''Winner'':

**''Runner Up'':

*ACC Women's Soccer Tournament **''Winner'': 2013, 2014, 2015: 3 ; Republic of Ireland U-17 *

UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, is a European championship football tournament, organized by UEFA, for national teams of women under age seventeen. The tournament was first played out ...

**''Runner Up'': 2010

References

External links

* * * *
Megan Campbell
at FAI
Megan Campbell
at

Manchester City FC Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Footba ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Megan 1993 births Living people Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Republic of Ireland women's international footballers St Francis L.F.C. players Raheny United F.C. players Florida State Seminoles women's soccer players Women's National League (Ireland) players Florida State University alumni Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Association footballers from County Louth Women's Super League players Manchester City W.F.C. players Women's association football fullbacks Liverpool F.C. Women players Women's Championship (England) players People from Drogheda Republic of Ireland women's youth international footballers