Fran Stenson (born 27 April 2001) is an English

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 a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

for

Women's Championship The Women's Super League 2, also known as Barclays Women's Super League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in England, operated by WSL Football. It is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The div ...

club

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the England under-23 team.

Club career

Fran Stenson made her professional debut on 1 October 2017 when she came on as a second-half substitute for

Ann-Katrin Berger Ann-Katrin Berger (born 9 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Germany national team, where she has been the number one since 2024. She ha ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional 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. The team compete in the ...

's 2–1 win over Everton in the

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 ...

, though she had previously started for England U17s a few weeks earlier. Following a transfer to

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 ...

, she made her full club start in the

FA WSL 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 ...

against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on 13 December 2018. In February 2019, Stenson went on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

of the

FA Women's National League North The FA Women's National League North is a football league at the third tier of women's football in England. Together with the National League South, the two leagues form the highest division of the National League. Established in 1991 as the W ...

. She was understudying

Karen Bardsley Karen Louise Bardsley (born 14 October 1984) is an American-born English former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. She played for Sky Blue FC in the previous top-flight American Women' ...

and Ellie Roebuck at Manchester City, while Blackburn urgently required a goalkeeper following injuries to both Danielle Gibbons and Danielle Hill. During preseason, Stenson appeared as part of the

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 ...

squad during the

Emirates Cup The Emirates Cup is a pre-season association football invitational competition hosted by English club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal at their home ground, Emirates Stadium, in Holloway, London. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2007 and is na ...

. She officially signed with the team on 16 August 2019. On 6 September 2019, Stenson returned to

on loan, this time in the

FA Women's Championship The Women's Super League 2, also known as Barclays Women's Super League 2 for sponsorship reasons, is a professional football league in England, operated by WSL Football. It is the second-highest division of women's football in England. The div ...

. On 11 July 2024, Stenson joined Women's Championship club

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

Fran Stenson
at Southampton F.C. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenson, Fran 2001 births Living people English women's footballers Women's association football goalkeepers Women's Super League players Manchester City W.F.C. players Birmingham City W.F.C. players Blackburn Rovers W.F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. Women players Arsenal W.F.C. players Southampton F.C. Women players England women's youth international footballers 21st-century English sportswomen