Fran Kirby
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Francesca Kirby (born 29 June 1993) is an English 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 lea ...
who plays as an
attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
for
Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
club
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...
and played for the
England national team Team England usually refers to the name under which athletes representing Commonwealth Games England compete. England team or Team England may refer to: *Commonwealth Games England *England national football team *England cricket team *England nat ...
. She began her career with hometown club
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
before moving to Chelsea in July 2015 where she remained until 2024. In August 2014, Kirby won her first senior
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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
for England. She represented her country at the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
in Canada, the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football, football championship contested by 24 List of women's national association football teams, women's ...
in France and the
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 Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...
in the Netherlands. She is considered as one of the best players of her generation. For the 2017–18 season, Kirby was awarded her first
PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in Women's football in England, English women's football. The award has been prese ...
award. Alongside the inaugural Football Writers' Women's Footballer of the Year. Winning both awards again in the
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
season. She was named to the shortlist for the
Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...
in 2021, ranking 10th. She was also named to the Top 10 of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''
The 100 Best Female Footballers In The World The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World is an annual global ranking of the best female Association football, footballers. The list was started by ''The Offside Rule'' podcast in 2016. Since 2018 it has also been published in association with ...
in 2021, ranking seventh. As of May 2024, when it was announced that Kirby would be leaving Chelsea at the end of the 2023–24 season, she holds the record as the club’s leading goalscorer, with 116 goals, holding this record since December 2020.


Early life

Born and raised in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
with her brother Jamie and parents Denise and Steve, Kirby began playing football as a young girl after watching her brother play. She would play any chance she got: at school, in the street, in the front garden. At a early age, her mother, Denise, wrote in a
birthday card A birthday card is a greeting card given or sent to a person to celebrate their birthday. Similar to a ''birthday cake'', birthday card traditions vary by culture but the origin of birthday cards is unclear. The advent of computing and introductio ...
that Fran would play in a World Cup one day: she was her biggest supporter. Kirby attended Caversham Park Primary School and Chiltern Edge, Sonning Common where she played against boys. As part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Kirby was installed at local club Caversham Trents. At age 7, she joined Reading's academy and made her senior debut at 16.


Club career


Reading, 2012–15

Kirby joined her hometown club
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
at the age of seven and worked her way through the youth teams. She made her debut for the first team at the age of 16 but quit football the following year after an onset of depression, brought about by the death of her mother. Kirby returned to the club in 2012 and went on to become the
FA Women's Premier League Southern Division The FA Women's National League South is a league in the third level in the women's football pyramid in England, along with the Northern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and below the Women's Super Le ...
's top scorer for the 2012–13 season, with 32 goals in 21 appearances. With Reading promoted to the newly formed Women's Super League 2 for 2014, Kirby helped the team achieve third place with 24 goals in 16 appearances. She ended the season as the league's top goalscorer; netting four against
London Bees London Bees is an England, English women's football (soccer), women's football club affiliated with Barnet F.C. They play in the FA Women's National League Division One South East, the fourth tier of the Women's football in England#Pyramid, Engl ...
, as well as
hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
against
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
,
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
and
Doncaster Rovers 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 ...
. Shortly after, she became the first female player to receive a professional contract from the club. At the 2014 FA Women's Awards, Kirby was named the inaugural WSL2 Players' Player of the Year. Kirby continued her goalscoring form into the 2015 WSL2 season, taking 11 goals in five league appearances for Reading, including all four goals in a 4–2 away win against
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...
and five goals in a 7–0 win against London Bees. Following the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
, Reading accepted an undisclosed transfer fee from Chelsea and she completed a move in July 2015. It was reported that the fee of between £40,000 and £60,000 constituted a British record, although Chelsea denied this was the case and Kirby was not aware of the figure.


Chelsea, 2015–24

At the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final, staged at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
for the first time, Kirby was a
cup-tied In association football, a player who has appeared for a football club during a knockout cup but subsequently transfers to another club is ineligible to play for the new club in the remainder of that season's cup competition. Such a player is sa ...
spectator for Chelsea's 1–0 win over
Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...
. It was Chelsea's first major trophy. In October 2015, she scored twice in Chelsea's 4–0 win over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
which secured the club's first
FA WSL The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
title; a league and cup
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
. The same month, Kirby scored Chelsea's first ever
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. ...
goal in a 1–0 win over Glasgow City. Kirby's form extended into the
2016 FA WSL The 2016 FA WSL 1 was the sixth edition of the FA WSL since it was formed in 2010. The WSL 1 was expanded to nine teams. The season started on 23 March and Chelsea were the defending WSL 1 champions. Manchester City Manchester Cit ...
season. In April, she secured Chelsea's return to Wembley Stadium by scoring a late,
extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
winner against
Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...
in the FA Women's Cup semi-final. Four days later, she scored both goals in Chelsea's 2–0 WSL win at
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. On 22 April 2018, Kirby was awarded the
PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in Women's football in England, English women's football. The award has been prese ...
and the Football Writers' Women's Footballer of the Year for the 2017–18 season. In February 2020, Chelsea announced that Kirby was diagnosed with
pericarditis Pericarditis () is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe whe ...
, which had ruled her out of the team since November 2019. She overcame her infection, despite being told by cardiologists that she may never play again, and played 70 minutes in Chelsea's
FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...
win against Manchester City on 29 August 2020. On 9 December 2020, Kirby's 2 goals in a 5–0 win against Benfica 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. ...
, saw her overtake Eniola Aluko as Chelsea's all-time goal scorer, with her 69th and 70th goals for the club, five years after signing. During a match against her former club, Reading on 10 January 2021, Kirby scored four goals lifting Chelsea to a 5–0 win. In the 2021
FA Women's League Cup The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since t ...
final match against
Bristol City W.F.C. Bristol City Women's Football Club is a women's association football team from the city of Bristol. Formed in 1998 as Bristol Rovers W.F.C., they were renamed Bristol Academy W.F.C. in 2005 following the withdraw of support from Bristol Rovers ...
, Kirby scored two goals and created four assists as defending champions Chelsea won 6–0 at Vicarage Road. Kirby was singled out by observers as the top performer for Chelsea during their double-winning 2020–21 campaign. She later won FWA's 2021 ''Women's Footballer of the Year'' award. On 5 December, Kirby scored the opening goal in the delayed
2020–21 FA Cup The 2020–21 FA Cup was the 140th edition of the oldest football tournament in the world, the Football Association Challenge Cup. It was sponsored by Emirates and known as the Emirates FA Cup for sponsorship purposes. The winners qualified for ...
final against Arsenal, helping her team lift the trophy and secure the domestic quadruple of the 2020–21 season, the first English women's club to achieve the feat. In the 2023–24 League Cup quarterfinal, Kirby scored two goals and made two assists in the 5–0 win against
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
. On 4 May 2024, it was announced that Kirby would leave Chelsea at the end of the 2023–24 season.


Brighton & Hove Albion, 2024–2025

Kirby signed for
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...
on 4 July 2024.


International career

Early in her career, Kirby was a member of the England under-23 squad. She became the first WSL 2 player to be called up to the senior squad, in June 2014 for the
World Cup qualifiers The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...
against
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. She was named on the substitutes' bench against Belarus but did not make an appearance. She made her senior international debut against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in August 2014, getting the second goal in a 4–0 friendly win at Victoria Park,
Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
. In May 2015, England manager
Mark Sampson Mark Geraint Sampson (born 18 October 1982) is a Welsh football coach who was most recently a first team coach at Stevenage F.C., Stevenage. Born in Creigiau, Wales, Sampson played amateur football for Cardiff Corinthians F.C., Cardiff Corinthi ...
named Kirby in his final squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted in Canada. She scored in England's 2–1 win over
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and was hailed "mini Messi" by Sampson. Although Kirby was disappointed to be ruled out by injury from the quarter-finals onwards, England's eventual third-place finish left her with a positive overall impression of the tournament: "a fantastic experience and one I won't forget in a hurry." Sampson kept Kirby in the national team for the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying campaign. In
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
on 21 September 2015 she scored twice in England's 8–0 win. After "12 months of hell" caused by knee and ankle injuries, Kirby returned to England's line-up for
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 Association football, football championship organised by UEFA for the ...
in the Netherlands. In England's opening fixture against rivals
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
second striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...
Kirby's clever dummy sent
Jodie Taylor Jodie Lee Taylor (born 17 May 1986) is an English former professional association football, footballer who last played as a Striker (association football), striker for Arsenal W.F.C., Arsenal of Women's Super League, WSL. She began her club care ...
through to score England's opening goal in a 6–0 rout. In the next match Kirby and Taylor scored in a 2–0 win over
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 ...
, which secured England's place in the quarter-final. When England were thrashed 3–0 by the
hosts A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...
in the semi-final, Kirby was rueful: "We had chances and could have had a few penalties. We are bitterly disappointed". On 6 October 2018, Kirby scored in England's 1–0 friendly win over
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
at
Meadow Lane Meadow Lane is a football (soccer), football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County F.C., Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 201 ...
. In post-match interviews England coach
Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English association football, football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is also the co-owner of Salford City F.C., Salford ...
breathlessly proclaimed Kirby's superiority to six-time World Player of the Year
Marta Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...
: "I'd take my No 10 over Brazil's No 10, that's for sure". In June 2022 Kirby was included in the England squad which won the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...
. Kirby was allotted 186 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international. In 2023, Kirby confirmed that she would miss the upcoming
FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament, which took place from 2 ...
due to requiring surgery for an ongoing knee problem. In March 2025, Kirby was called up to the
2025 UEFA Women's Nations League The 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League is the second season of the UEFA Women's Nations League, an international women's football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the ...
squad for the matches against Belgium, after missing the first two matches due to injury. On 3 April, it was announced Kirby would miss the first of the two matches due to a minor injury. On 3 June 2025, she announced her retirement from international play.


Great Britain

Kirby was hailed as a "stand out player" in Great Britain's gold medal-winning team at the
2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (; ), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated ...
in
Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
, Russia. She went on to represent Great Britain at the delayed
2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
.


Personal life

While growing up, Kirby was very close to her mother Denise. When Kirby was 14, Denise died suddenly from a
brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
. Two years later, Kirby experienced a deep depression, and stated that she "just could not comprehend what had happened. And it stayed like that for many years." Away with England U17, Kirby broke down because she "missed ermum". She returned home and dropped out of football. She later reflected that "I'd have days where I wouldn't get out of bed. Or I wouldn't go to college. I could get as far as the bus stop, then I'd just break down crying." One day, one of her friends invited her to play with her amateur team, where she found her love for football again. In October 2019, Kirby received the
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of
Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...
(D.Sc.) from the
University of Winchester The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005. Winchester University ...
for her "achievements both on and off the field, in particular her work supporting mental health and wellbeing." In February 2020, Chelsea revealed Kirby had successfully recovered from
pericarditis Pericarditis () is inflammation of the pericardium, the fibrous sac surrounding the heart. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp chest pain, which may also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is typically less severe whe ...
, a potentially career-ending illness. Kirby had fallen ill in November 2019 and came close to retiring from the game as a result. In April 2020, Kirby was named in ''
Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...
'' magazine's Visible Lesbian 100 list during
Lesbian Visibility Week Lesbian Visibility Week (related to Lesbian Visibility Day) is an annual observance in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries dedicated to increasing the awareness of lesbian women and their issues. It was originally celebrate ...
. In April 2022, Kirby stated on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that she had been dealing with an "on-going issue" throughout her career and wanted to "put erhealth first".
Emma Hayes Emma Carol Hayes (born 18 October 1976) is an English professional football manager who is the head coach of the United States women's national team. She was previously manager of Chelsea Women from 2012 to 2024, winning seven Women's Super ...
, the then manager of Chelsea Women, clarified during a press conference that Kirby had been "suffering a lot with fatigue", yet the cause was unknown.


Career statistics


Club


International

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kirby goal.''


Honours

Chelsea *
FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
:
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, Spring Series, 2017–18, 2019–20,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
, 2021–22,
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
, 2023–24 *
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 ...
: 2014–15, 2017–18,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
, 2021–22,
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*
FA Women's League Cup The Women's League Cup, also known as the Subway Women's League Cup due to sponsorship reasons, is a league cup competition in English women's association football. The competition was originally open to the eight teams in the FA WSL, but since t ...
: 2019–20,
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
*
FA Women's Community Shield The Women's FA Community Shield was an association football competition in England. It was a national super cup, and the equivalent of the FA Community Shield in male football. It was the first competitive match of the football season. The match ...
:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
* UEFA Women's Champion's League runners-up:
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
England *
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 ...
: third place
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
*
UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...
:
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
Individual *
PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Women's Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is voted to have been the best of the year in Women's football in England, English women's football. The award has been prese ...
: 2017–18, 2020–21 * PFA WSL 1 Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2020–21 * FWA Women's Footballer of the Year: 2017–18, 2020–21 *
FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
Player of the Month: January 2021, September 2021 *London Football Awards Women's Super League Player of the Year: 2020–21 *
FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...
Player of the Year: 2020–21 *Chelsea Women's Player of the Year: 2017–18, 2020–2021 *
Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...
(announced 1 August 2022) Records * All-time leading scorer for Chelsea Women: 101


See also

* List of UEFA Women's Championship goalscorers *
List of England women's international footballers This is a list of England women's international footballers – association football players who have played for the England women's national football team. This table takes into account all official England matches. Legacy numbers were intro ...
* List of Women's Super League hat-tricks * List of people from Reading, Berkshire


References


Further reading

* Aluko, Eniola (2019), ''They Don't Teach This'', Random House, * Brown, Charlotte (2019), ''Kirby'', John Blake * Caudwell, Jayne (2013), ''Women's Football in the UK: Continuing with Gender Analyses'', Taylor & Francis, * Clarke, Gemma (2019), ''Soccerwomen: The Icons, Rebels, Stars, and Trailblazers Who Transformed the Beautiful Game'', * Dunn, Carrie (2019), ''Pride of the Lionesses: The Changing Face of Women's Football in England'', Pitch Publishing (Brighton) Limited, * Dunn, Carrie (2016), ''The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England'', Pitch Publishing Limited, * Grainey, Timothy (2012), ''Beyond Bend It Like Beckham: The Global Phenomenon of Women's Soccer'', University of Nebraska Press, * Smith, Kelly (2012), ''Footballer: My Story'', Transworld, * Stay, Shane (2019), ''The Women's World Cup 2019 Book: Everything You Need to Know About the Soccer World Cup'', Books on Demand, * Theivam, Keiran and Jeff Kassouf (2019), ''The Making of the Women's World Cup: Defining Stories from a Sport's Coming of Age'', Little,


External links

*
Football Association player profileChelsea FC player profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Fran 1993 births Living people Women's association football forwards English women's footballers England women's under-23 international footballers England women's international footballers Chelsea F.C. Women players Brighton & Hove Albion W.F.C. players Women's Super League players Footballers from Reading, Berkshire Reading F.C. Women players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics FISU World University Games gold medalists for Great Britain Summer World University Games medalists in football Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade English lesbian sportswomen English LGBTQ footballers Olympic footballers for Great Britain Footballers from Berkshire UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Championship–winning players UEFA Women's Euro 2017 players 21st-century English sportswomen