Lucy Elizabeth Staniforth-Wilson (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Staniforth; born 2 October 1992) 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 an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

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

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

and the England women's national team. She has been described by former England coach

Mark Sampson Mark Geraint Sampson (born 18 October 1982) is a Welsh football coach who was most recently a first team coach at Stevenage. He has also been a manager of the England women's team. Playing career Born and raised in Creigiau, a suburb of Card ...

as "one of the best young players in Europe".

Club career

Sunderland

Staniforth began playing for the

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

first team at the age of 16. In her first season in senior football, she was instrumental in helping Sunderland win the

FA Women's Premier League Northern Division The FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division is a league at the third-level in the women's football league pyramid in England, along with the Southern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and bel ...

and reach the 2009 FA Women's Cup final, where they were beaten 2–1 by Arsenal. The following season, Staniforth figured prominently as a key player in Sunderland's success as they finished fifth in their first season back at the top level.

Lincoln Ladies

Upon Sunderland's failed bid to join the

FA WSL 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 ...

in 2010, Staniforth joined successful applicant, Lincoln Ladies. She started every game in her first season at the club, netting three times. The most notable of her goals in her first season in the

came in the away fixture at

Doncaster Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an English women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's administration is based at the Eco Power St ...

. Staniforth helped her side reach fourth place in the league. In the 2012 season, Staniforth bettered her goalscoring tally substantially, scoring on a further 6 occasions in all competitions. In the two ultimate games of the season, she scored winning goals for Lincoln: an extravagant lob from 35 yards against Everton Ladies, and against

Chelsea Ladies Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

, lifting the side to fifth in the table.

Bristol City

In December 2012, it was announced that Staniforth would be joining Bristol Academy, against whom she had scored twice in the preceding

2012 FA WSL The 2012 FA WSL is the second season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 8 April 2012 and was scheduled to end in October 2012. The league is to break between 8 July and 19 August to allow prepa ...

season. Staniforth scored her first goal for the club in the home fixture against Doncaster Rovers Belles, with a 22-yard drive. In her first season at the Stoke Gifford Stadium, Staniforth reached the second

FA Women's 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 ...

final of her career. During the match she suffered a serious knee injury and was stretchered off. After only a short time at the club, Staniforth subsequently spent the remainder of the season sidelined, with plans to return in time for the 2014 season. Bristol ended the season runners-up, losing 2–0 on the final day of the season to champions

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Liverpool

In February 2014, Staniforth joined reigning

champions Liverpool for a reported five-figure fee. Staniforth sustained an injury during pre-season, this time to the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in her other leg, which put her out of action for the entirety of the 2014 season. Despite Staniforth's injury, which ruled her out for the entire season, Liverpool went on to win the

title for the second consecutive year.

Return to Sunderland

In January 2016, Staniforth left Liverpool and returned to Sunderland on a two-year contract. At the beginning of the 2017 season, Lucy was awarded penalty-taking responsibilities for her club. In both the fifth and sixth round of the

, against

and

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 ...

respectively, Staniforth scored from the penalty spot. She then scored on two further occasions in the league, from the spot against her old club

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 ...

and directly from a corner against Yeovil Town with the outside of her foot. Following Steph Bannon's departure from the club, Staniforth was named club captain of

in July 2017. Staniforth's rich vein of form continued into the 2018 season, scoring against both

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

and netting a brace against

. In the Fourth Round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

against Brighouse Town L.F.C, Lucy scored a second half hat-trick – the first hat-trick of her senior career. In Staniforth's inaugural season as captain, she was awarded Player of the Season for her club and nominated for Goal of the Season at the FAWSL Awards.

Birmingham City

In 2018, she joined

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 ...

. After two seasons, she left upon the expiry of her contract.

Manchester United

On 9 July 2020, Staniforth signed a two-year deal with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. She made her debut on 4 October as a 65th minute substitute in a 3–0 victory over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. On 1 August 2022, Staniforth signed a one-year contract extension until the end of the 2022–23 season.

Aston Villa

On 9 January 2023, Staniforth signed for fellow WSL team

on a free transfer following the termination of her Manchester United contract.

International career

Staniforth has represented England on the senior national team as well as numerous youth national teams.

Youth national teams, 2008–12

She featured for England in their fourth-place finish at the

2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is the first women's football U-17 World Cup in FIFA history. It was held in New Zealand from 28 October to 16 November 2008. It is the officially recognized world championship for women's under-17 national ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, scoring an excellent goal against Japan in the quarter final. In July 2009 Staniforth competed at the

2009 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship 2009 Final Tournament was held in Belarus from 13 to 25 July 2009. Players born on or after 1 January 1990 were eligible to participate in this competition. The tournament served as a qualifier for the 2010 ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, which England won. In her time with the U-19s, she scored twice. In 2010 Staniforth helped England reach the final of the

2010 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2010 Final Tournament was held in Macedonia between 24 May and 5 June 2010. Players born after 1 January 1991 were eligible to participate in this competition. Qualifications There were two separate rounds of q ...

in FYR Macedonia, where they lost their title to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Later that summer Staniforth played in two of England's games at the

2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 5th edition of the tournament. It was held in Germany, who will also host the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup a year later from 13 July to 1 August 2010. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from al ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Staniforth subsequently joined the ranks of the U-23s, making her debut against Norway in February 2012. Staniforth scored an impressive 25-yard drive in the first game of the Under-23 Four Nations La Manga Tournament, helping her team beat Sweden 2–0.

Senior national team, 2018–

Staniforth earned her first call up to the senior England squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

qualifying match against Russia at

Sapsan Arena Sapsan Arena (russian: «Сапсан Арена») is a football stadium situated in Moscow, Russia. It hosts Kazanka Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow's farm club, and Lokomotiv Moscow's youth team. It seats 10,000 people. History The stadium was ...

in Moscow on 8 June 2018. She gained her first cap on 4 September 2018 in a

qualifying match against Kazakhstan, scoring on her debut in the 66th minute. Staniforth scored the opening goal in the ultimate game of the

2019 SheBelieves Cup The 2019 SheBelieves Cup was the fourth edition of the SheBelieves Cup, an invitational women's soccer tournament held in the United States. Featuring national teams from Brazil, England, Japan, and hosts United States, it began on February 2 ...

, helping the Lionesses beat Japan 3–0 and win the international tournament for the first time. On 8 May 2019, Staniforth was called up to the

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

23-player squad for the

in France.

Personal life

Staniforth comes from a footballing family, where both her father and brother were professionals. Gordon Staniforth, her father, played for

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

and

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

, his hometown club, as well as a host of other clubs. Her brother, Tom, played for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

's reserve and youth sides but died at the age of 20 in 2001. Throughout her career Lucy has worn the number 37, Tom's squad number with Sheffield Wednesday. After hitting the first goal in Lincoln's 3–0 WSL win at Doncaster Rovers Belles, Lucy revealed a T-shirt paying tribute to Tom on the tenth anniversary of his death. Staniforth is openly lesbian and married her wife in December 2022.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''As of match played 6 June 2019. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Staniforth goal.''

Honours

Sunderland *

: 2008–09 *

runner-up:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Bristol Academy *

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

runner-up:

Liverpool *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

England *

SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's soccer tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017 and 2018), it was contested by the same four teams: the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual *Sunderland Ladies Player of the Year: 2018 *Sunderland Ladies Team of the Decade XI: 2010s

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester United F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Staniforth, Lucy 1992 births Living people Footballers from York English women's footballers Notts County L.F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies players Liverpool F.C. Women players Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Lesbian sportswomen LGBT association football players FA Women's National League players Women's Super League players England women's under-23 international footballers Women's association football midfielders England women's international footballers Birmingham City W.F.C. players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Manchester United W.F.C. players Aston Villa W.F.C. players

Club career

Sunderland

Lincoln Ladies

Bristol City

Liverpool

Return to Sunderland

Birmingham City

Manchester United

Aston Villa

International career

Youth national teams, 2008–12

Senior national team, 2018–

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

See also

References

Further reading

External links