Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

forward who spent three spells with

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 ...

club

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 ...

. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

then played professionally with

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Uni ...

(WUSA) franchise Philadelphia Charge. After returning to Arsenal for a period which included a 2007

UEFA Women's Cup 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. T ...

win, Smith was tempted back to America with another professional contract, this time with

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 ...

(WPS). She accumulated 117 caps for the England national team after making her debut in 1995. Despite being hit by serious injury during her career, Smith is England's second-highest goalscorer with 46 goals. She played for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Smith was renowned for her speed, ball control and quickness in which she developed into a potent centre forward. She is considered by many who played with and against her to be one of the greatest ever players to come out of England, as well as one of the greatest players of all time.

Club career

Youth and university

While growing up in the Garston area of

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 ...

, Smith regularly played football on boys' teams until, at the age of seven, she was kicked out of Garston Boys Club – despite being the top goalscorer – when the parents of her male opponents complained. After continuing at Pinner Girls, a team formed by Smith's father, she developed her skills at Wembley Ladies and made her senior debut in the 1994–95 season. In August 1995, Pete Davies wrote in ''

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 ...

'' that the "lethally quick, bountifully gifted" Smith was: "the outstanding prospect in the women's game today." After moving to

Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as just Arsenal, is an English professional women's association football, women's football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, London, England. The club plays in the FA Women' ...

during 1996–97, she scored two goals and assisted on the third in a 3–0 win over

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 ...

which secured the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

title that season. She spent that year at West Herts College, but transferred to

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1997. Smith enrolled at Seton Hall as a student-athlete. She played for the Seton Hall Pirates from 1997 through 1999. In her first year at Seton Hall in 1997, Smith set scoring records for the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

and became the first athlete in any sport to be the conference's (Offensive) Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. In the following two seasons, she was the leading scorer not only in the Big East, but in the whole of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I, and was named Big East Offensive Player of the Year in both years. At the end of her university career, the school retired her number 6 shirt, she became the first Seton Hall athlete in any sport other than basketball to have a number retired. In her three years at Seton Hall, she set school records with 76 goals and 174 points while playing in just 51 matches.

United States

At the culmination of her studies, Smith remained in the United States, remarking: "women's football in England is a joke." Smith's first professional club was New Jersey Lady Stallions of W-League, for which she played on from 1999 to 2000. However, a new top-flight women's league was about to start in the United States and Smith stayed in the country to participate in the project. The

was formed in early 2000. Smith was drafted second overall in the 2001 WUSA Foreign Allocation

Draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

by Philadelphia Charge. Smith played all three seasons with Philadelphia and was named to the 2001 WUSA Global 11 All-Star Team. 2001 was her only full season in the league; in 2002, Smith missed most of the season after tearing her ACL in her right knee, and missed much of 2003 after re-injuring the same knee. Following the 2003 season, the WUSA ceased operations. Smith decided to keep playing in the United States following the collapse of the WUSA. In 2004, she played for the

New Jersey Wildcats The New Jersey Wildcats is an American women's soccer team, founded by Vincent Baldino in 1996. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League (1995–2015), W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and C ...

in the W-League, but she was injured yet again, breaking her leg. She ended up appearing in eight games for the club (563 minutes) and tallied eight goals and six assists.

England

Smith returned to England and

in the autumn of 2004. She officially rejoined in 2005 after being treated at the Sporting Chance clinic. However, she was yet again hampered by injury, this time by a stress fracture in her foot. She returned to action at the end of the 2004–05 season, scoring a goal from 30 metres out against Charlton Athletic L.F.C. which clinched the league title for Arsenal. In Arsenal's " Quadruple" winning season of 2006–07, Smith scored 30 goals in 34 games across the four competitions. However, she missed both legs of the

2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Cup 2006–07 was the sixth edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football (soccer), football club tournament (since rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League). 43 teams from 42 football associations took part, starting with the fi ...

final through suspension, after being sent off for giving the finger to opposition fans in the semi-final. During Smith's Arsenal career since rejoining in 2005, she appeared in 66 League games scoring 73 goals, 16 FA Cup games scoring 13 goals, 10 League Cup games scoring four goals, 18 UEFA Women's Cup games scoring nine goals, and two Community Shield games scoring one goal for a total of 112 appearances and 100 goals. In her last competitive game for Arsenal, Smith scored a

hat-trick 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 ...

to help Arsenal to a 5–0 win over Doncaster Belles in the

FA Women's Premier League Cup The FA Women's National League Cup is an annual England, English women's association football, football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association, Women's Football Association (WFA). The 1991–92 WFA Women's National L ...

final. She won the FA Women's Players' Player of the year in 2006 and 2007.

Return to the United States

Upon the creation of a new women's league in the United States,

, many teams were interested in Smith's services. She was chosen by the

second overall in the

2008 WPS International Draft The 2008 WPS International Draft took place on September 24, 2008. It was the first international draft held by Women's Professional Soccer to assign the WPS rights of international players to the American-based teams. For the 2009 season, teams ...

, above Marta and under only Formiga. Kelly Smith 2009

Despite being drafted by Boston, she was still under contract with Arsenal. However, Smith decided to leave Arsenal to join Boston Breakers on 18 February 2009, one of a number of English players to join the new Women's Professional Soccer League. In the inaugural

2009 Women's Professional Soccer season The 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season served as the inaugural season for WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on March 29 and ended on August 9, with the postseason being held ...

, Smith appeared in 15 games (13 starts, 1170 total minutes) and scored six goals with two assists. She was named to the WPS All-Star ballot, but was unavailable for the match due to England's participation at the European Championships. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Smith started all her 21 appearances, leading the team with 11 goals and five assists. She played in that season's All-Star game.

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

saw Smith again afflicted by injury; she posted one goal and four assists in 10 appearances (nine starts, 850 minutes). When the WPS went on hiatus ahead of the 2012 season, Smith was left "devastated" and without a club.

Arsenal again

On leaving Boston Breakers, Smith resisted offers from clubs in Sweden and Germany to join Arsenal for a third time. However, she arrived with a stress fracture acquired at the 2012 Cyprus Cup and then aggravated the injury when kicking a ball during a promotional video shoot, without the protective footwear she had been instructed to wear.

International career

England

Smith debuted for the England national team on 1 November 1995, three days after turning 17. The 1–1 draw 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 ...

was played at Roker Park and Smith won Player of the Match from her position on the left wing. She had been unable to accept a call-up to England's

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

squad that summer due to sitting her

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

exams. Her first international goal came on the occasion of her second cap, against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

on 19 November 1995. Smith scored a stoppage-time penalty in England's 5–0 win at the Valley. During the following years, the English

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

(FA) complained to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

when Smith's American college team refused to release her for national team duty. When healthy, Smith has generally been considered one of the world's top female players; former

head coach April Heinrichs asserted that Smith would be an automatic choice for the United States Women's National Team if she had been eligible, and Vera Pauw, the Dutch coach, called Kelly "the best player in the World" after she scored a hat-trick against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in a

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

qualifier. During the 2011 World Cup,

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March 17, 1972) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player, two-time Women's Football at the Summer Olympics, Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Haile ...

said of Smith: "I remember the first time I saw Kelly play. She'd just graduated from Seton Hall. She's incredibly technical, with great speed of thought and play. Her touch is different class – everything's clean, everything's with a purpose. The pace of her passes is always perfect and she can score at will too." Smith's former England teammate and later coach, Hope Powell, went further than Hamm: "Kelly is one of those players who come along only once or twice in a lifetime. In the men's game you'd think of

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

or Messi, players with a unique talent, and that’s what Kelly has." Smith has competed in the

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

editions of the

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 ...

, as well as the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

with England. She also played in the 2007

China Cup The China Cup International Football Championship () is an annual association football tournament organized in China by Wanda Sports Holdings. The Championship was inaugurated in 2017 as a single-elimination tournament A single-elimination kn ...

against the

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

where she was named the player of the tournament. Smith was voted third in the 2009 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, fourth in

and fifth in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Smith reportedly became England's all-time record goalscorer in September 2010, when she scored her 41st international goal against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 2011, Smith competed in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, where she scored from the spot in England's quarterfinal match with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, to give England a 1–0 lead in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

(England would go on to lose the shootout 4–3). Smith, hindered by an achilles injury, was dissatisfied with her own performances at the tournament: "I have to acknowledge that I didn't play well and I have to live with that." She returned to the England squad for a

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying The Qualifying rounds for the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 determined which 11 teams joined Sweden, the hosts of the 2013 tournament, to play for the UEFA Women's Championship. Tie breakers If two or more teams are tied in points the tie breakers are ...

tie with

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

after missing the first three matches of the campaign. On 3 February 2015, Smith announced her retirement from international duty. She was allotted 108 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

Great Britain Olympic

In June 2012 Smith was named in the 18–player

squad for the

. Smith incurred a minor injury in the 1–0 group stage 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 ...

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 ...

, and was unable to join Team GB in their quarter final defeat by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Television broadcast

Smith made her television debut on

FOX Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

in December 2014, and provided commentary for

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

. In April 2021, Smith joined fellow British Olympians

Nicola Adams Nicola Virginia Adams OBE (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female flyweight title in 2019. As an ...

and

Greg Rutherford Gregory James Rutherford Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 17 November 1986) is a retired British people, British track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. He represented Great Britain at the Olympics, World a ...

, and fitness instructor Mr Motivator in launching the ‘Energy Fit for the Future’ campaign by Smart Energy GB, which aimed at encouraging people to install

smart meters A smart meter is an electronic device that records information—such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor—and communicates the information to the consumer and electricity suppliers. Advanced meterin ...

in their homes.

Coaching career

In March 2023, it was announced that Kelly would return to Arsenal to coach at the Women's academy whilst earning her

UEFA A Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

coaching badge. In April 2023, it was announced that Kelly had joined the Arsenal Women's first-team coaching setup until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Personal life

Smith studied at Francis Combe School and Community College in Watford. She has spoken about her previous

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

which included treatment at The Priory and

Sporting Chance Clinic Sporting Chance (sometimes referred to by its original name, Sporting Chance Clinic) is a registered UK based charity. Set up by former Arsenal and England football captain Tony Adams, Sporting Chance provides support to current and former pro ...

. Smith used to share a house with England, Arsenal and Boston Breakers teammate Alex Scott. In Scott's 2022 autobiography, she revealed that she and Smith had previously been in a romantic relationship. In June 2016 she married management consultant DeAnna Dobosz. She gave birth to their son in May 2017. On 1 August 2019, Smith gave birth to their second child, a daughter.

Career statistics

Honours

Smith was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours. Arsenal *

: 1996–97, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2015–16 * Premier League Cup: 2006–07 *

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 ...

: 2006–07 England * Cyprus Cup:

runner-up:

Individual * Women's Super League Hall of Fame: 2021

References

External links

*
Football Association player profile

Boston Breakers player profile

WUSA player profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kelly 1978 births Living people Footballers from Watford English women's footballers England women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Arsenal W.F.C. players Women's United Soccer Association players Philadelphia Charge players Seton Hall Pirates women's soccer players Members of the Order of the British Empire English Football Hall of Fame inductees Boston Breakers players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States FIFA Women's Century Club 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Great Britain Barnet F.C. Ladies players Women's Super League players Women's association football forwards New Jersey Wildcats players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate women's footballers English lesbian sportswomen English LGBTQ footballers Women association football commentators English association football commentators Women's Professional Soccer players WSL Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century English sportswomen