Siobhan Rebecca Chamberlain (born 15 August 1983) is an English sports pundit, commentator, and former 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 last played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. She joined Manchester United in 2018 after playing for

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 popul ...

. Before joining Liverpool in December 2015, she had been at

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

from Arsenal. Chamberlain previously played at the top club level for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

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 ...

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 ...

and Bristol Academy, as well as for North American W-League club

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

. She has represented the

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, also known as the Lionesses, have been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first i ...

on 50 occasions since her debut in 2004. This included being part of the squad at three FIFA Women's World Cups and three

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

Club career

Early career

A childhood

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

, Chamberlain took up goalkeeping at the age of 14 and was spotted by

. In 2003, she left Chelsea for

, who had lost their professional status and Norwegian international goalkeeper Astrid Johannessen. Chamberlain played for Fulham in the

UEFA Women's Cup 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. T ...

, but moved on to

at the end of the season. At Birmingham City Chamberlain provided competition for

Jo Fletcher Josephine Julia Fletcher (born 31 December 1980) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Watford. She played at full international level for England. She hails from Malpas, Cheshire and attended Bishop Heber High School. Club c ...

during the 2004–05 season. Chamberlain then played for Bristol Academy for two seasons, leaving to rejoin

in the 2007 close season. On 26 May 2010, she left Chelsea and signed for Canadian W-League

Bristol Academy

In October 2010, Chamberlain returned to Bristol Academy ahead of their inaugural FA WSL campaign. She helped Bristol reach the

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, played in the

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 ...

and was named in the WSL team of the season. In April 2012 she was appointed as one of eight digital media ambassadors, one from each team, who wear their

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account name on their shirt sleeves to raise the profile of the WSL.

Arsenal

In December 2013, Chamberlain quit Bristol Academy to sign a two-year contract with Arsenal, where she would rival the incumbent goalkeeper

Emma Byrne Emma Anne Byrne (born 14 June 1979) is an Irish football goalkeeper who played for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team on a record 134 occasions and served as captain of the team. She spent almost 17 years with Arsenal before ...

for a starting position. Chamberlain had played every minute of every game in her three seasons back at Bristol, but craved a new challenge: "My ambition is to be England's number one so the added competition at Arsenal is what I need at this point in my career."

Loan to Notts County

On 9 July 2015, Chamberlain moved to

on loan until the end of the season following injury to England teammate

Carly Telford Carly Mitchell Telford (born 7 July 1987) is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for San Diego Wave and the England national team. Club career Telford joined Leeds United Ladies in 2007 from relegated club Sunderland. In May of t ...

. She was ineligible for 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 ...

and

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

refused Notts County's request for dispensation to sign another goalkeeper, so Telford played in the team's 1–0 defeat despite a shoulder injury.

Liverpool

Chamberlain failed to dislodge Byrne from Arsenal's starting line-up and was mainly used in cup matches. She was pushed further down the pecking order by the signing of

Sari van Veenendaal Sari van Veenendaal (; born 3 April 1990) is a Dutch former professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for PSV and captained the Netherlands national team. She was part of the Netherlands squad that won UEFA Women's Euro 2017. C ...

. In December 2015,

announced their signing of Chamberlain on a one-year contract. When Liverpool decided not to renew 34-year-old Chamberlain's contract in May 2018, she criticised the club for a lack of ambition.

Manchester United

Man Utd Women 5 Lewes FC Women 0 11 05 2019-787 (47799294342)

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Chamberlain would join Manchester United for their inaugural season playing in the FA Women's Championship. During a pre-season friendly against her former club Liverpool on 17 July 2018, Chamberlain suffered a suspected serious neck injury and was rushed to hospital; however, checks revealed that the injury was not as serious as first thought. She recovered in time for the start of the season and made her competitive debut for Manchester United in a 1–0

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 ...

victory against

on 19 August. On 9 September, she made her

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

debut in a 12–0 win against Aston Villa. Chamberlain did not concede a league goal until United's sixth game, with Angela Addison's 82nd minute consolation goal in United's 4–1 win ending a streak of 531 minutes without conceding. United clinched the Championship title on 20 April 2019 with a 7–0 win over

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

with Chamberlain having played in all 18 league matches, conceding seven goals in that time. She subsequently missed the final two games of the season with a foot injury, collecting her winners medal on the last day of the season in an aircast. In May 2019, she was named PFA Community Champion of the Year for her work with the Manchester United Foundation. For the 2019–20 season, Chamberlain took part in a reduced training programme while pregnant with her first child. She expressed a desire to return to the club full-time following her pregnancy. While sidelined, Chamberlain explored opportunities with the club's social media and press team, worked as club photographer and commentated on matches for the club's

TV channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

. She terminated her contract by mutual consent on 15 July 2020.

Retirement

On 4 September 2020, after fielding several offers and spending the 2020–21 preseason training with an unnamed WSL club, Chamberlain announced her retirement from professional football in order to spend more time with her family and focus on her

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in sporting directorship. She has continued to serve as a commentator alongside Pien Meulensteen on MUTV.

International career

Chamberlain progressed through the youth ranks with

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 ...

before making her senior debut against 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 ...

in September 2004. She won her second cap in a record 13–0 win against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and her third against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Chamberlain was named in England's squad for the 2007 World Cup. In May 2009, Chamberlain was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by

. She went to

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

as an understudy to first-choice

Rachel Brown Rachel Brown (born 2 July 1980) is an English former football goalkeeper who played for Liverpool from 1995 to 1998 and Everton from 2003 until 2014. A product of the American college system, Brown spent five years playing varsity soccer for ...

. When Brown was controversially sent-off in a World Cup qualifying play-off in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, Chamberlain came on as her replacement. By the 2011 World Cup American-born

Karen Bardsley Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is a US-born English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. She played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women's Professional Soccer league, Linköpings FC in the Swedish Dama ...

had taken over the England team's first-choice goalkeeping position, with Brown and Chamberlain as back-ups. Bardsley also retained the number one role at

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held in Sweden from 10 to 28 July 2013, became the mos ...

. In May 2015, national

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Mark Sampson Mark Geraint Sampson (born 18 October 1982) is a Welsh football coach who was most recently a first team coach at Stevenage. He has also been a manager of the England women's team. Playing career Born and raised in Creigiau, a suburb of Car ...

named Chamberlain in his final squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, to be hosted in Canada. On 27 June 2015, she replaced fellow goalkeeper Bardsley in the 52nd minute of England's 2–1 quarter-final win over hosts

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, as her country reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history. Bardsley had suffered a swollen eye after an allergic reaction to the rubber crumb on the controversial artificial turf pitch, but was restored to the team for England's semi-final defeat by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. At

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 The 2017 UEFA European Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2017, was the 12th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national tea ...

, Chamberlain was again named as Bardsley's understudy. She played 90 minutes in a

dead rubber Dead rubber is a term used in sporting parlance to describe a match in a series where the series result has already been decided by earlier matches. The dead rubber match therefore has no effect on the winner and loser of the series, other than the ...

group win over

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and again entered play as a quarter-final substitute following another injury to Bardsley. She was selected for the semi-final against hosts the Netherlands but conceded three unanswered goals as England exited the competition. At the 2018 SheBelieves Cup Chamberlain won her 50th England

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 ...

Personal life

Chamberlain joined the National Player Development Centre at Loughborough University when she was 18, training every day while earning a degree in sports science and a master's degree in sports nutrition. She was later employed as a lecturer / coach by South Gloucestershire and Stroud College in Bristol. In 2015, Chamberlain married Leigh Moore, a former media assistant at the FA. Moore was left in charge of planning the wedding while Chamberlain was away at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. In July 2019, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. Emilia Francesca Moore was born on 31 January 2020. In July 2018, Chamberlain became a member of pledge-based charity Common Goal. In July 2020, Chamberlain became a club ambassador for

Hashtag United F.C. Hashtag United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Len Salmon Stadium. Founded in 2016 by YouTube personality Spencer Carmichael-Brown, the club original ...

following the club's creation of a fourth division women's team ahead of the 2020–21 season.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Arsenal *

: 2013–14 Manchester United * FA Women's Championship: 2018–19 England *

Cyprus Cup The Cyprus Women's Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football. It has been held annually in Cyprus since 2008. Although the competition takes place in Cyprus, the hosts have yet to take part in t ...

: 2009,

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 fact ...

, 2015 *

runner-up: 2009 * FIFA Women's World Cup third place: 2015 Individual * PFA FA WSL 1 Team of the Year: 2011, 2013–14

References

External links

Profile
at ManUtd.com * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlain, Siobhan 1983 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. Women players Arsenal W.F.C. players Fulham L.F.C. players Notts County L.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. Women players Birmingham City W.F.C. players Manchester United W.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Women's Super League players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players Vancouver Whitecaps FC (women) players England women's under-23 international footballers Footballers from Greater London Women's association football goalkeepers English expatriate women's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate women's soccer players in Canada UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players