Carmaine Walker (born 5 November 1979) is a former English

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 represented

England women's national football team The England women's national football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, has been governed by the Football Association (FA) since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association (WFA). England played its first interna ...

. A tall and powerful striker, Walker won the

FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup 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 (currently known as the Adobe Women's FA Cup for sponso ...

once and the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

twice with home town club

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. Now working as a driver for Initial Medical

Club career

Walker began her football career with a decade at Crystal Palace. She moved to St Georges in 1996 and hit 63 goals in 84 games across all competitions. After joining Croydon in 1998, Walker won the

twice and the

once, before Croydon came under the auspices of Charlton Athletic in 2000. Walker headed the opening goal in Croydon's 2–1 FA Women's Cup final win over

Doncaster Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admi ...

in 2000. She remained with Charlton and played in successive FA Women's Cup final defeats in 2003 and 2004. A long-term injury had kept Walker out of action for most of the 2001–02 season. In March 2004 Walker scored twice and missed a penalty as Charlton ended

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

's two-year unbeaten league run. Charlton manager Keith Boanas said, "She used to have disciplinary problems, always late for training. But I've instilled belief in her that she could be an England player." Walker made a brief comeback with

Millwall Lionesses Millwall Lionesses Football Club is an English women's football club based in Rotherhithe, south-east London, that plays in the , the fifth tier of English women's football. Founded in 1973, the group of women who made up the Lionesses were at ...

in August 2008, scoring a penalty in a 2–1 debut win over Ipswich Town.

International career

Walker was first called up by the senior England team in January 2003, for the annual training camp at

La Manga Club La Manga Club is a sports and leisure resort located in the south-eastern region of Spain, Murcia, south of La Manga, and bordered by the Mar Menor and Calblanque Regional Park. The resort complex opened in 1972 and covers an area of 1,400 ...

. Her first cap came the following month, replacing namesake Karen Walker during a 1–0 defeat to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Viareggio Viareggio () is a city and ''comune'' in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. With a population of over 62,000, it is the second largest city in the province of Lucca, after Lucca. It is known as a seaside resort as well a ...

. In May 2003 Walker made two further appearances during England's ill-fated tour of North America, starting two 4–0 defeats to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

after sitting out a 6–0 humbling by

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She also featured in friendlies against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

later that year. In September 2003 an on-pitch altercation with Doncaster Belles' former Charlton Athletic player Carly Hunt saw a red card for Walker. Days later the incident spilled over into an England training session, resulting in lengthy bans for twins Carly and Gemma Hunt, as well as Walker and her Charlton teammate

Eartha Pond Eartha Sweetie Pond (born 4 September 1983) is a footballer. Born in England, she plays internationally for Saint Lucia. She previously played club football as a defender for Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Charlton Athletic, Leeds, and Tottenham ...

. Walker was recalled to the National squad after serving the suspension. Her sixth and final appearance for England came as a half time substitute for club mate

Amanda Barr Amanda Jayne Maslin-Barr (''née'' Barr; born 2 May 1982) is an English women's football striker. She scored ten goals in 39 appearances for England after making her international debut in 2001. Barr spearheaded the England attack at the 2005 U ...

in a 1–0 friendly win over

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in May 2004. She was allotted 148 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Carmaine 1979 births Living people English women's footballers England women's international footballers Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Crystal Palace F.C. (Women) players Women's association football forwards Footballers from London