Leandra Faye Little (born 8 November 1984) is an English former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 most recently played as a defender for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

of 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 ...

. A former PE

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, she is the education lead at the Liverpool F.C. Women's Academy and an education welfare officer for

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

Basketball

Prior to her football career, Little represented the England women's national basketball team and played for the

City of Sheffield Hatters The Sheffield Hatters are a women's basketball club from Sheffield, England. The club have been mainstays of the women's game in England for many years, having celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011, and were founder members of the profess ...

from 2003 to 2007. Disappointed to be left off the longlist for the

Great Britain women's national basketball team The Great Britain women's national basketball team represents Great Britain in international women's basketball. The current governing body for the Great Britain team was formed by the national basketball organisations of England (Basketball Engla ...

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 ...

, Little decided to play football instead.

Football

In 2007 Little joined Lincoln Ladies, becoming an important defender in the team which consistently challenged for

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from the

FA Women's Premier League Northern Division 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 WFA ...

. When Lincoln were accepted into 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 ...

, Little performed well in the inaugural 2011 season, being named Manager's Player of the Year. In December 2011, Little transferred to Lincoln's FA WSL rivals

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 ...

. In six years with the South Yorkshire outfit, she rose to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

status and grew to love the club: "They hold a dear place in my heart". Although Little helped Doncaster win the

2017–18 FA WSL 2 The 2017–18 FA WSL 2 was the fifth edition of the FA WSL 2 since it was formed in 2014. It was the first season of FA WSL 2 which ran as a winter league. It started in September 2017 and ended in May 2018, with ten teams competing in the league. ...

title, the impecunious fallen giants were refused a WSL license for the following season and consigned to the

FA Women's National League The FA Women's National League is a group of six football divisions which sit at the third and fourth tiers of women's football in England. Founded in 1991 as the WFA National League, the league was run by the Women's Football Association, before ...

References

External links

Doncaster Rovers Belles player profile
* * 1984 births Living people English women's footballers Women's association football defenders Women's Super League players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Liverpool F.C. Women players Sheffield United F.C. Women players English women's basketball players FA Women's National League players People from Brixham Notts County L.F.C. players Footballers from Devon 21st-century English sportswomen {{UK-basketball-bio-stub