Rachel Unitt
Encyclopedia
Rachel Elizabeth Unitt (born 5 June 1982 in Walsall
, England
) is an English football
player. She currently plays as a left back for England Women
and Everton Ladies
.
as a 14-year-old. She joined Everton Ladies for 2000/01, before signing a professional contract with Fulham L.F.C.
the following season. After a successful spell at Fulham, she returned to Everton in 2004. Her achievements to date include winning the domestic treble with Fulham in the 2002/03 season and the 2010 FA Women's Cup
with Everton.
In July 2005, Unitt joined American W-League
side New Jersey Wildcats
for the last seven games of their season, teaming up with England and former Fulham teammate Rachel Yankey
. The Wildcats eventually won the W-League championship, beating the Ottawa Fury Women
by 3-0 in the championship match with Unitt scoring the first goal. Unitt also trained with Malmö FF in December 2005, but, fearing burn-out, rejected a contract offer from the Swedish club.
With Everton dormant ahead of the 2011 FA WSL season, Unitt played for Leeds City Vixens
in the FA Women's Premier League Cup.
, before 50,000 spectators at Stade Vélodrome
. She scored her first international goal in England’s victory over the Netherlands
in September 2004, and scored twice more in her home town of Walsall
during England's 4–1 friendly win over the Czech Republic
in May 2005.
Unitt was named the Nationwide International Player of the Year at the 2004 FA
Women’s Football Awards. She won the same award in 2006, voted for by the fans on the FA website.
In May 2009, Unitt was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by the Football Association.
At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China
, Unitt was the only outfield member of the England squad who remained unused. On the occasion of her 90th cap, she eventually made a World Cup debut in June 2011, starting England's 1–1 draw with Mexico
in Wolfsburg
.
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) is an English football
Women's football (soccer)
Women's association football has been played for many decades, but was associated with charity games and physical exercise in the past before the breakthrough of organized women's association football came in the 1970s. Before the 1970s, football was basically seen as a men's game...
player. She currently plays as a left back for England Women
England women's national football team
The England women's national football team represents England in international women's football. The side has been quite successful of late, qualifying for three World Cups, 1995, 2007 and 2011...
and Everton Ladies
Everton L.F.C.
Everton Ladies Football Club are a semi-professional women's association football team from the city of Liverpool, who compete in the FA WSL. They were runners-up to Arsenal in the 2009–10 Premier League National Division season. They have won the title once in 1998 and the FA Women's Cup on...
.
Club career
Unitt started her footballing career with Wolves WomenWolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Women's Football Club is an English women's football club affiliated with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.. The club currently play in the Midland Combination, after being relegated from the FA Women's Premier League Northern Division in 2006–07.-History:The club began playing...
as a 14-year-old. She joined Everton Ladies for 2000/01, before signing a professional contract with Fulham L.F.C.
Fulham L.F.C.
WFC Fulham, previously known as Fulham LFC, was a Ladies Football Club formerly associated with Fulham Football Club. The team were dissolved as of 16 May 2006, but were later re-established with independence from Fulham F.C....
the following season. After a successful spell at Fulham, she returned to Everton in 2004. Her achievements to date include winning the domestic treble with Fulham in the 2002/03 season and the 2010 FA Women's Cup
FA Women's Cup
The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
with Everton.
In July 2005, Unitt joined American W-League
W-League
The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
side New Jersey Wildcats
New Jersey Wildcats
New Jersey Wildcats is an American women’s soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference against the D.C...
for the last seven games of their season, teaming up with England and former Fulham teammate Rachel Yankey
Rachel Yankey
Rachel Abba Yankey, MBE is an English football player. She plays for the English side Arsenal, and for the England national team. She plays as a left-winger or forward, and wears the number 11 for Arsenal and England. She is of Ghanaian descent, from her father's side.Yankey is the most-capped...
. The Wildcats eventually won the W-League championship, beating the Ottawa Fury Women
Ottawa Fury
Ottawa Fury is a Canadian soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 2005, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference....
by 3-0 in the championship match with Unitt scoring the first goal. Unitt also trained with Malmö FF in December 2005, but, fearing burn-out, rejected a contract offer from the Swedish club.
With Everton dormant ahead of the 2011 FA WSL season, Unitt played for Leeds City Vixens
Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.
Leeds City Vixens Ladies Football Club is an English women's football team founded in 1993 by Martin Cockerill, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
in the FA Women's Premier League Cup.
International career
Unitt first played for England in 2000, after 16 appearances for the U–18s. Her senior debut came in August 2000, in a 1–0 friendly defeat to FranceFrance women's national football team
The French women's national football team represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer...
, before 50,000 spectators at Stade Vélodrome
Stade Vélodrome
The Stade Vélodrome is a football stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is the largest club-football ground in France, with a capacity of 60,031 spectators,...
. She scored her first international goal in England’s victory over the Netherlands
Netherlands women's national football team
The Netherlands women's national football team represents the Netherlands in international women's football. The team played the first women's international recognized by FIFA, on 17 April 1971 against France.-World Cup record:-Current squad:...
in September 2004, and scored twice more in her home town of Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
during England's 4–1 friendly win over the Czech Republic
Czech Republic women's national football team
The Czech Republic women's national football team are the official football women's team for the Czech Republic, they are currently ranked 26th in the world . At the moment, the captain of the team is Eva Šmeralová, who plays for Sparta Prague....
in May 2005.
Unitt was named the Nationwide International Player of the Year at the 2004 FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
Women’s Football Awards. She won the same award in 2006, voted for by the fans on the FA website.
In May 2009, Unitt was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by the Football Association.
At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Unitt was the only outfield member of the England squad who remained unused. On the occasion of her 90th cap, she eventually made a World Cup debut in June 2011, starting England's 1–1 draw with Mexico
Mexico women's national football team
The Mexico women's national football team represents Mexico in international women's football competition and is controlled by the Mexican Football Federation. In the 1970s, the team gained popularity, with Mexico finishing 3rd in a unofficial Women's World Cup held in Italy...
in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
.
International goals
- Scores and results list England's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Result Competition Scored 1 22 September 2004 Sportcomplex Hollandia, Tuitjenhorn TuitjenhornTuitjenhorn is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Harenkarspel, Tuitjenhorn is the main town of the Harenkarspel municipality. Tuitjenhorn lies about 9 km northwest of Heerhugowaard.In 2001, the town of Tuitjenhorn had 2487 inhabitants...
1–0 Friendly 1 3 26 May 2005 Bescot Stadium Bescot StadiumBescot Stadium, also known as the Banks's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of Walsall Football Club. It was built in 1989-90 by GMI Construction with a reported build cost of £4.5m...
, WalsallWalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
4–1 Friendly 2 4 9 February 2006 Dasaki Stadium Dasaki StadiumDasaki Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Achna, Cyprus. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Ethnikos Achna FC. The stadium holds 7,000 people and was built in 1997....
, AchnaAchnaAkhna , is a village in Cyprus in the Famagusta District, just North of the United Nations Buffer Zone. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the displaced residents built a new village south of the old location....
1–1 Friendly 1 5 25 October 2009 Bloomfield Road Bloomfield RoadBloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
, BlackpoolBlackpoolBlackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
8–0 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)In the UEFA qualification for 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 41 entrants were drawn into eight groups, from which the group winners advanced to a play-off round...
1 6 26 November 2009 Buca Arena Buca ArenaBuca Arena is a football stadium in Izmir and is located near to Yedigöller, north of Buca. Construction began in 2008; the opening ceremony of the new stadium was in 2009. The official capacity of Buca Arena is 10,000...
, İzmirIzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
3–0 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)In the UEFA qualification for 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 41 entrants were drawn into eight groups, from which the group winners advanced to a play-off round...
1 7 19 June 2010 Aranda de Duero Aranda de DueroAranda de Duero is a Spanish town and municipality in the south of the province of Burgos, autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of roughly 33,000 people. The post code for the town is 09400. The closest airport is in Valladolid....
2–2 2011 FIFA World Cup Qual. 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)In the UEFA qualification for 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, 41 entrants were drawn into eight groups, from which the group winners advanced to a play-off round...
1
Honours
- FA Women's Premier League National DivisionFA Women's Premier League National DivisionThe FA Women's Premier League National Division is the second level of the English women's football league pyramid. From 1991 until the introduction of the summer competition FA Women's Super League the National Division functioned as the top league in England. Below it are simultaneously the...
: 1
- 2002–03
- FA Women's CupFA Women's CupThe Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
: 3
- FA Women's Cup
- 2001–02, 2002–03, 2009–10
- FA Women's Premier League Cup: 3
- 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007-08
- FA Women's Premier League Southern DivisionFA Women's Premier League Southern DivisionThe FA Women's Premier League Southern Division is a league in the Third level in the women's football pyramid in England, along with the Northern division. These two divisions are below the FA Women's Super League and National Division...
: 1
- FA Women's Premier League Southern Division
- 2001–02
- FA Women's Community ShieldFA Women's Community ShieldThe FA Women's Community Shield is the female football equivalent of the FA Community Shield in the male football. It is the first competitive match of the football season, although it is seen by most fans as a showpiece event...
: 2
- FA Women's Community Shield
- 2002-03, 2003-04
- FA International Player of the Year Award: 2
- 2003-04, 2005–06