Jessica Leigh 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 lea ...

who plays as a defender for

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

(NWSL) club

Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...

and 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 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. The team compete in the ...

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 ...

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 A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

and

Finalissima The Finalissima or officially 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 th ...

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 name is ...

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 Ty ...

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. 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 Micromanagement is a management style characterized by behaviors such as an excessive focus on observing and controlling subordinates and an obsession with details. Micromanagement generally has a negative connotation, suggesting a lack of fr ...

" by Chelsea staff, in order to get back her career on track. Carter has credited manager

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 ...

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. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. On 2 May 2021, Carter helped Chelsea reach the Champions League final, 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 northeastern coast of 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 c ...

'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 for Women's Super League club Chelsea, which she captains, and the England national team. She previously played for Doncaster Belles and Leeds ...

and

Magdalena Eriksson Magdalena "Magda" Eriksson (also Ericsson; born 8 September 1993) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for Frauen-Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and the Sweden national team.Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Gotham FC

On 29 July 2024,

NJ/NY Gotham FC Gotham Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sk ...

announced that they had signed Carter until 2026. On 25 May 2025, she started in the

2025 CONCACAF W Champions Cup final The 2025 CONCACAF W Champions Cup final was the final match of the 2024–25 CONCACAF W Champions Cup, the 1st season of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean's premier club association football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It wa ...

against Tigres, where Gotham won 1–0 to become the inaugural winners of the competition.

International career

Youth

Carter has represented England in the U19,

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA S ...

, 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 countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In April, Carter played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

in the 2014 U-19 Championship qualification matches against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, with England qualifying for the

final tournament Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. 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. I ...

, 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 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, 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 ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. 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 landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, replacing

Lucy Bronze Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze (born 28 October 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the England women's national team. She has previously played for Sunderland, Everto ...

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 Association football, football champio ...

, 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 was the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's association football, football championship contested by List of women's national association football teams, women's nat ...

. 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 player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

, 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 BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

'', after goalkeeper

Mary Earps Mary Alexandra Earps (born 7 March 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Première Ligue club Paris Saint-Germain. At the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, she served as the vice captain for England, and received ...

. In June 2025, Carter was named to the squad for the

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 The 2025 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2025 or simply Euro 2025, will be the 14th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the wome ...

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 ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', she is "one of the best one-on-one defenders in the

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 ...

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

, and in 2014, she played as a

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 player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. 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 African American father and British mother, and holds both British and American citizenship. Carter has 5 siblings, Patrick, Maria, Joe, Amy and Cam. Maria is her favourite. Since 2017, she has been in a relationship with her long-time Birmingham City, Chelsea, and Gotham FC teammate

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 ...

. In May 2024, they announced their engagement. Carter is the Co-Founder and an ambassador for an all-female football academy run by former Barcelona & Arsenal youth player,

Judan Ali Judan Ali is an English football technical director, coach, and former player He played for Arsenal, Barcelona and Murcia. Ali is the first BAME British National to hold a position of technical director for a FIFA Member Association. Earl ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 29 June 2025.'' :''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), 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 ...

: 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 *

Women's FA 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 ...

, 2021–22,

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,

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 ...

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 ...

Gotham FC *

CONCACAF W Champions Cup The CONCACAF W Champions Cup is an annual continental women's football club competition organized by CONCACAF that determines the club champion for the region encompassing North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It is comparable to ...

: 2024–25 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 ...

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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 ...

Women's Finalissima The Women's Finalissima is an intercontinental women's football super cup organised by CONMEBOL and UEFA and contested by the winners of the Copa América Femenina and UEFA Women's Championship. Played as a quadrennial one-off match, the fi ...

Arnold Clark Cup The Arnold Clark Cup is an invitational women's association football tournament hosted by the Football Association in England, starting in 2022. It is named after car retailer Arnold Clark, who signed a multi-year sponsorship deal. ITV acts as t ...

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 Football in England, En ...

: 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 * Chelsea Women's Player's Player of the Year: 2023–24 *

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. ...

Team of the Season: 2023–24

References

External links

Profile
at England Football Association *
Profile
at Chelsea FC * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jessica Living people 1997 births Sportspeople from Warwick Footballers from Warwickshire English women's footballers English people of African-American descent American people of English descent Women's association football midfielders Women's Super League players Birmingham City W.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. Women players English lesbian sportswomen American lesbian sportswomen English LGBTQ footballers England women's international footballers UEFA Women's Euro 2022 players UEFA Women's Championship–winning players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Gotham FC players English expatriate women's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Women's association football defenders 21st-century English sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen National Women's Soccer League players UEFA Women's Euro 2025 players