Jess Carter (born 27 October 1997) 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 ...

who plays as a defender for

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

club

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

and the England national team. She began her senior career at

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. Since 2011, the first te ...

and has represented England from under-19 to under-23 youth level. In 2017, Carter was awarded

PFA Young Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year (often called the PFA Young Player of the Year, or simply the Young Player of the Year) is an annual award given to the young player who is adjudged to have been the best of the s ...

and named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year. With Chelsea, she has won multiple WSL titles, FA Cups, and League Cups; with England, Carter is a European Championship and

Finalissima The Finalissima, officially the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions (formerly known as European/South American Nations Cup and also called Artemio Franchi Cup), is an intercontinental football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested by ...

winner, as well as a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

runner-up.

Early life

As a youth, Carter captained the Warwick Juniors to the County Cup championship; a plaque honouring Carter was installed at the club in 2022 as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign.

Club career

Birmingham City

In June 2013, she joined the Birmingham City Academy. In March 2014 at the age of 16, Carter made her debut for

in a match against

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 ...

in the first leg of the

2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 13th edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final was held at Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal. German team VfL Wolfsburg won the title over Swedish club T ...

quarter-final. She was subsequently named player of the match.

Chelsea

In June 2018, Carter joined Chelsea on a three-year contract from Birmingham City. In the 2018–19 season she made only 16 starts in games, six of which came from the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

. Sports writer Jonathan Liew described it as a difficult patch in her early career, where she would be frequently late for training and miss fitness targets. According to Liew, she was put on a personalised diet and received "a certain

micromanagement In business management, micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes, controls, and/or reminds the work of their subordinates or employees. Micromanagement is generally considered to have a negative connotation, mai ...

" by Chelsea staff, in order to get back her career on track. Carter has credited manager Emma Hayes with her development both on and off the pitch. In January 2020, in the 2019–20 season, Carter scored her debut goal for the club in a 6–1 win over

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. On 2 May 2021, Carter helped Chelsea reach the

Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...

, taking the free-kick that

Pernille Harder Pernille Mosegaard Harder (born 15 November 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Frauen-Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Denmark national team. In September 2020, she became the w ...

would score from, to put the team ahead (on aggregate) in the 2nd leg of the 2020–21 Champions League semi final. She featured in the final two weeks later as right-back, where she struggled against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

's exceptional wide-play, resulting in a 4–0 defeat. Carter nonetheless ended the 2020–21 season as a domestic treble winner with Chelsea. Carter had her career breakthrough during the 2021–22 season, forming the key part of the defensive back three with teammates

Millie Bright Millie Bright (born 21 August 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Chelsea F.C. Women, Chelsea and the England women's national football team, England national team. She previou ...

and Magdalena Eriksson. In October 2022, Carter extended her Chelsea contract to remain at the club as a defender until 2025. On 23 November 2022, Carter made her 100th appearance for the club against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

International career

Youth

Carter has represented England in the U19, U20, U21 and U23 youth teams. In January 2014, during her debut for the England under-19 team, she scored against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. In April, Carter played as a forward in the 2014 U-19 Championship qualification matches against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, with England qualifying for the final tournament. On 18 June 2014, she featured in the under-23 squad in the Nordic Tournament, losing 3–0 to

. In July, Carter was named as part of the under-20 squad for the

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. ...

, as a forward player. After her senior international debut in 2017, Carter was named in the under-21 squad as a defender for La Manga Tournament. In April 2019, she featured as part of the

starting eleven In sports, a starting lineup is an official list of the set of players who will participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as ''starters'', whereas the others are ''substitutes'' o ...

in England's 2–1 victory over France, followed by being

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

for a second bookable offence in a loss to Norway.

Senior

In April 2017, after her earlier role as striker in England's youth teams, Carter received her first call up to the senior team, as a defender, for fixtures against

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 ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. On 28 November 2017, she made her senior international debut in 2019 World Cup qualification against

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

, replacing

Lucy Bronze Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze (born 28 October 1991), known as Lucy Bronze, is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Barcelona and the England national team. She has previously played for Sunderland, Everton, Liverpool, Lyon a ...

in the 77th minute as England won 5–0. In June 2022, after not playing for the senior team from 2017–2021, Carter was part 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 football championship organised by U ...

, playing a total of 16 minutes in the tournament. In November 2022, Carter was allotted 201 in the FA legacy numbers scheme. In May 2023, Carter was named to the squad for the

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...

. She started in five of six matches in the tournament, as an integral part of England's back three, credited with ensuring the team only conceded three goals up until the final. In the final and playing as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, where England lost 1–0 to Spain, Carter was ranked second best player for England by ''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside ...

'', after goalkeeper Mary Earps.

Style of play

Carter has been described by Jonathan Liew as calm in possession, relatively error-free, and with "exceptional read of the game". According to ''The Independent'', she is "one of the best one-on-one defenders in the

". Early in her career from 2013–2018, Carter begun as a defender and midfielder for

, and in 2014, she played as a forward with England under-19s and under-20s. With Chelsea, she started as a full-back in 2018 before becoming a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. A right footed and versatile defender, Carter has played both left-back and right-back for England and Chelsea, but prefers not to play on the left. She believes her skills are best used as part of a back-three formation.

Personal life

Carter was born in England to an American father and English mother, and holds both British and American citizenship. She is in a relationship with her Chelsea teammate Ann-Katrin Berger. Carter is an ambassador for an all-female football academy run by former Arsenal youth player, Judan Ali.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 27 February 2024.'' :''Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Carter goal.''

Honours

Chelsea *

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features 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 ...

, 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 ...

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 re ...

, 2021–22,

FA Women's League Cup The FA Women's League Cup 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 the WSL's restructuring to two divisions, it has featured 23 teams. Pr ...

: 2019–20,

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier L ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

England *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

runner-up:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

Women's Finalissima The Women's Finalissima is a future official super cup football match organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested by the winners of the Copa América Femenina and UEFA Women's Championship. Organised as a quadrennial one-off match, it is a w ...

* Arnold Clark Cup:

Individual * FA WSL

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premi ...

: 2017 *

: 2016–17 *

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) * PFA Community Champion Award: 2022–23

References

External links

Profile
at England Football
Profile
at Chelsea FC
Jess Carter
at Soccerway * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jessica Living people 1997 births Sportspeople from Warwick Footballers from Warwickshire English women's footballers English people of African-American descent Women's association football midfielders Women's Super League players Birmingham City W.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. Women players Lesbian sportswomen English LGBT sportspeople British LGBT footballers England women's international footballers LGBT women UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Championship-winning players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players