Edite Cristiana Fernandes (born 10 October 1979) is a Portuguese former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who most recently played for CF Benfica of the

Campeonato Nacional de Futebol Feminino The Campeonato Nacional Feminino (English: Women's National Championship), also known as Liga BPI for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier women's association football league in Portugal and part of the various Women's football in Portugal, wome ...

. She is a former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the

Portugal women's national football team The Portugal women's national football team () represents Portugal in international Women's association football, women's football competition. The team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and competes as a member of UEFA ...

, who scored a national record 39 goals in the 132

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

she accumulated between 1997 and 2016.

Club career

Edite began her career with local club Boavista, before moving to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

side 1º Dezembro at age 19. She would win nine Portuguese Liga titles and three Portugal Cups at the two clubs before moving abroad to play in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In August 2002 Edite was the

Player of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

as Beijing Chengjian beat Shanghai SVA on penalties in the

Chinese Women's Super League The Chinese Football Association Women's Super League (CWSL) (), commonly known as the Chinese Women's Super League or the CWSL is the top level women's football league in China. It was called the Chinese Women's National Football League from 201 ...

final. She has played for several clubs in Spain, and joined Arsenal Ladies F.C. for pre-season training but did not sign a permanent deal with the club. She also played in Norway's

Toppserien The Toppserien is the top level of women's association football in Norway. It was founded in 1984. History Women's league football was introduced on a county basis in 1977. These leagues acted as qualification for the regional (South) league in ...

with

Donn In Irish mythology, Donn ("the dark one", from ) is an ancestor of the Gaels and is believed to have been a god of the dead. Donn is said to dwell in Tech Duinn (the "house of Donn" or "house of the dark one"), where the souls of the dead gathe ...

during 2010. Veteran Edite transferred from

SC Braga Sporting Clube de Braga (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. Best known for the men's professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese foo ...

to CF Benfica in July 2018. In April 2021, 41-year-old Edite announced her departure from CF Benfica and her retirement as a footballer.

International career

Edite made her Portugal national team debut in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

at Cantanhede in 1997. In November 2011 she made her 100th appearance for the national team, having scored 31 goals. In March 2016 she moved level with

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-t ...

's total of 129 caps.

International goals

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

References

External links

*
Edite Fernandes Official
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Edite 1979 births Living people Portuguese women's footballers Portugal women's international footballers Expatriate women's footballers in China Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain USL W-League (1995–2015) players FIFA Women's Century Club Liga F players Atlético Madrid Femenino players Zaragoza CFF players FK Donn players Toppserien players Expatriate women's footballers in Norway Footballers from Vila do Conde Portuguese expatriate women's footballers Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Norway Women's association football forwards Campeonato Nacional Feminino players Valadares Gaia F.C. (women) players S.C. Braga (women) players S.U. 1º Dezembro (women) players Beijing BG Phoenix F.C. players Boavista F.C. (women) players