Sheila Parker (née Porter; born 1947) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

former international football defender. In November 1972 she captained 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 ...

in their first official match, a 3–2 win over

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in Greenock. Parker was announced as an inductee to the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...

in May 2013.

Early and personal life

Parker grew up in Chorley,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and played football with the boys at school. Parker's granddaughter, Chloe, plays for

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

Career

Club

In June 1961, 13-year-old Parker played her first match for

Dick, Kerr's Ladies Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. was one of the earliest known women's association football teams in England. The team remained in existence for over 48 years, from 1917 to 1965, playing 833 games, winning 759, drawing 46, and losing 28. During its early ye ...

. In 1974 Parker helped Fodens, originally a works team from the Edwin Foden, Sons & Co. lorry manufacturing plant in

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

, shock Southampton in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

of the

Women's FA 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 rea ...

. Teammate Sylvia Gore recalled: She later played for Chorley Ladies.

International

When the

Women's Football Association The Women's Football Association (WFA) was the governing body of women's football in England. It was formed in 1969 and was disbanded in 1993, as responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the game of women's football in England passed to Th ...

(WFA) tasked Eric Worthington with constructing the first official England national team in 1972, he selected Parker as his captain after a series of trials. She was 24, already married and returning from the birth of her son earlier that year. Parker, a centre half, retained the captaincy until 1976, when she was left out of the squad for a Home Nations tournament against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

. Carol Thomas assumed the captaincy. Parker returned to the team in November 1977, scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over

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 ...

Plough Lane Plough Lane – named The Cherry Red Records Stadium for sponsorship reasons – is a football stadium in Wimbledon, south-west London, which has been the home of AFC Wimbledon since 3 November 2020. A groundshare with rugby league side London ...

Wendy Owen Wendy Owen (born 1954) is an England, English former international association football, football defender and coach. She was a member of the England women's national football team in their first official match, a 3–2 win over Scotland wom ...

reported that her central defensive partner Parker played for England until 1980. England manager Martin Reagan selected veteran Parker in his squad for the

1984 European Competition for Women's Football The 1984 European Competition for Women's Football was won by Sweden on penalties against England. It comprised four qualifying groups, the winner of each going through to the semi-finals which were played over two legs, home and away. As only sixt ...

final against Sweden. After her retirement as a player in 1984, Parker wanted to remain involved in football and trained as a referee under the

Lancashire County Football Association The Lancashire County Football Association, also known simply as the Lancashire FA, is the governing body of football within the historical county boundaries of Lancashire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of foot ...

. Fifty years after first representing England, Parker received various honours. A "Where Greatness is Made" plaque was installed at

Chorley F.C. Chorley Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chorley, Lancashire, England. They currently compete in and play their home matches at Victory Park. The club was founded as a rugby union club in 1875 but switched to footba ...

, and Parker was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to women's football and charity. In November 2022, Parker was recognized by

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

as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 5th women's player to be capped by England.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Sheila Footballers from Chorley English women's footballers England women's international footballers Living people 1947 births Date of birth missing (living people) Dick, Kerr's Ladies F.C. players Women's association football midfielders Members of the Order of the British Empire Fodens Ladies F.C. players