Naldra "Naz" Ball is a Welsh 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 ...

striker. She represented the

Wales women's national football team The Wales national women's football team () represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the third-oldest national football association in th ...

and the English

FA Women's Premier League The FA Women's National League is a group of six Association football, 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 Footba ...

clubs

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 ...

and

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

Club career

In 1991–92, the first season of England's national women's league structure, Ball scored 23 goals as

pipped Abbeydale to promotion into the National Division. She also headed the winner in the inaugural Premier League Cup final in May 1992, as Arsenal beat

Millwall Lionesses Millwall Lionesses Football Club is an English women's football club based in Rotherhithe, south-east London, that plays in the , the fifth tier of English women's football. Founded in 1973, the group of women who made up the Lionesses were at ...

1–0. The following season Arsenal won a domestic treble. Ball scored in every round of the

WFA 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 sponsor ...

, and her headed goal in the 3–0 final win over

Doncaster 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 ...

was the 38th of a prolific campaign. In April 1995, Ball, by then reduced to bit-part status, came on for the final two minutes of Arsenal's 3–2

FA Women's 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 ...

final win over Liverpool Ladies. In 1995–1996 Ball played for Wembley Ladies – and won a last minute penalty kick as Wembley ultimately beat Doncaster Belles in the Premier League Cup final on 10 March 1996. Ball featured for Wembley in the following season's 1–0 FA Women's Cup final defeat to Millwall Lionesses. She emerged from retirement to do so, aged 35, while working as an RAF stewardess.

International career

Ball was capped at international level by

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

.Barnet FC Ladies – A History
Barnet FC In

1995 UEFA Women's Championship qualification The qualification for UEFA Women's Euro 1995 was held between 15 August 1993 and 30 October 1994. The winner of the quarter-finals qualified. First round Group 1 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group 2 ...

Ball scored twice in her five appearances for Wales.

References

Welsh women's footballers Wales women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Arsenal W.F.C. players Barnet F.C. Ladies players Women's association football forwards People from Pwllheli {{Wales-footy-forward-stub