Deborah Bampton (born 7 October 1961) is an English former

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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. During her career, Bampton won a treble at

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and two doubles with

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 ...

. She was also capped a total of 95 times for England, scoring seven goals in all.

Club career

Bampton began her career at the age of 14. She played for Lowestoft Ladies, the team winning the Women's FA Cup in 1982, although Bampton missed the final due to injury. She then moved to captain Howbury Grange, managed by her father Albert. She was a member of the side that won the Women's FA Cup in 1984. In 1987 she moved to Italy, playing for Despar Trani 80 as a full–time professional alongside compatriot Kerry Davis. She spent just one season there, but won runners–up medals in both the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and national Cup. She joined Arsenal Ladies in 1992. Bampton thereafter won with Arsenal the treble of League Cup, Premier League and FA Cup in that being her first season at the club. Her following 1993–94 season was without fruit in comparison to prior. With this being so, Bampton left Highbury to become

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of Croydon Women in 1994. In the 1995–96 season, Croydon won the League title and the FA Women's Cup. Despite leaving the field after eight minutes due to injury, Bampton won her fifth FA Cup winners' medal when Croydon beat

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in the 1996 final at the New Den. She won the league with Croydon twice more, before leaving to join Doncaster Belles as a player in 2000, after the Croydon club moved to Charlton. In 2004, she joined Eastbourne Borough Ladies, a team her father was coaching. During their first season as a women's team, they went on to win the Sussex County Cup and the League Cup. The following year, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.

International career

Bampton made her

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

debut whilst still at school, playing against the

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in September 1978. Bampton hit the winning goal in

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as England qualified for the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football final. In the second leg of the final at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

, Bampton scored in England's

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defeat to

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. In 1985, she became the England captain following the retirement of Carol Thomas, then England's most capped player and still the second longest serving captain. In 1991, she was injured and replaced as captain by Gillian Coultard. In 1995, new manager Ted Copeland restored her as captain, and she led the Three Lionesses into their first ever

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

appearance that year. Bampton recalled: "It was difficult, especially as Gill and I were roommates and at that point the England squad was split. A lot of people wanted Clare Taylor to be captain, but it was something I'd always wanted to do and so I just enjoyed it." She retained the captaincy for England's failed 1997 UEFA Women's Championship qualification campaign. In May 1997, Bampton made her final England appearance in a 6–0 friendly defeat to

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in Portland. She won 95 caps for England, scoring three goals altogether. She was allotted 40 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international.

Playing style

Bampton was a tall, strong and industrious central midfielder. She characterised herself as "a box-to-box player" and said "I worked hard to win the ball, and I was always looking to make forward runs. I was not a natural goalscorer, but I did look to set up chances for others."

Coaching career

In 1982, Bampton, alongside Audrey Rigby and Caroline Jones, was selected to join New Zealand club Auckland WFC as a player and as a coach. However, she suffered a broken leg, and had to be limited to coaching. She joined the coaching staff of Whitehawk Ladies in the 2006 close season, along with former Arsenal Ladies and England player Angela Banks. In February 2008, she was manager of Whitehawk Ladies. Bampton joined the coaching staff of Lewes Ladies in January 2009.

Personal life

Bampton is a supporter of

. She was appointed as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

as a recognition of her services to women's football.United Kingdom list:

Honours

Club

;Lowestoft * FA Women's Cup: 1982 ;Howbury Grange * FA Women's Cup:

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

;Millwall * FA Women's Cup:

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

;Arsenal * WSL Cup: 1993 * Women's Premier League: 1993 * FA Women's Cup: 1993 ;Croydon * Women's Premier League: 1996, 1999, 2000 * WSL Cup: 1996, 2000

Individual

* English Football Hall of Fame: 2005

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bampton, Debbie 1961 births Living people English women's footballers Members of the Order of the British Empire English Football Hall of Fame inductees England women's international footballers Arsenal W.F.C. players Howbury Grange players Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Lowestoft Ladies F.C. players Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Expatriate women's footballers in Italy English expatriate women's footballers Serie A (women's football) players A.C.F. Trani 80 players English women's football managers Women's association football midfielders 20th-century English sportswomen