Rachel Elizabeth Unitt (born 5 June 1982) is a former English footballer who last played for FA Women's Championship club London Bees. After beginning her club career with

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

, Unitt began a long association with Everton in 2000. This was intersected by a three-year spell at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

between 2001 and 2004 and a summer on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

to New Jersey Wildcats in 2005. She left Everton in 2012 for a two-year stint 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 later played for Notts County in 2014. A sturdy

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Unitt has won over 100 caps for the England women's national football team since her debut in August 2000. She represented England at 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 as well as at the

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 ...

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 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 ...

. She was ruled out of both the 2013 UEFA Women's Championship and the

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 ...

squad for the 2012 London Olympics due to injury. In 2004 and 2006 Unitt was named

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 ...

's (FA) International Player of the Year. In 2016, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame at the National Football Museum.

Club career

Unitt started her footballing career with Wolves Women as a 14-year-old. She joined Everton Ladies for 2000–01, before signing a professional contract with Fulham L.F.C. the following season. After a successful spell at Fulham, she returned to Everton in 2004. Her achievements to date include winning the domestic treble with Fulham in the 2002–03 season and the 2010 FA Women's Cup with Everton. In July 2005, Unitt joined American W-League side New Jersey Wildcats for the last seven games of their season, teaming up with England and former Fulham teammate Rachel Yankey. The Wildcats eventually won the W-League championship, beating the Ottawa Fury by 3–0 in the championship match with Unitt scoring the first goal. Unitt also trained with

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

in December 2005, but, fearing burn-out, rejected a contract offer from the Swedish club. With Everton dormant ahead of the 2011

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 ...

season, Unitt played for Leeds City Vixens in the FA Women's Premier League Cup. At the end of the 2011 FA WSL season, Unitt put in a transfer request after eight years at Everton. Following negotiations a move to

was announced in February 2012. After her time at the club was disrupted by injury, Unitt rejected Birmingham's offer of a contract extension in January 2014 and left the club as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. She signed for Notts County on 30 January 2014, only to suffer an injury to the cruciate ligament in her other knee during the 2014 FA WSL season. In December 2014 she agreed to stay with Notts County, combining her rehabilitation with a place on the club's coaching staff. In 2016, Unitt played for Solihull Moors L.F.C., a women's football club in the West Midlands, which at the time was in the FA Women's Premier League.

International career

Unitt first played for England in 2000, after 16 appearances for the U18s. Her senior debut came in August 2000, in a 1–0 friendly defeat to

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, before 50,000 spectators at Stade Vélodrome. She scored her first international goal in England's victory over 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 September 2004, and scored twice more in her home town of

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

during England's 4–1 friendly win over the

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in May 2005. Unitt was named the Nationwide International Player of the Year at the 2004 The FA Women's Football Awards. She won the same award in 2006, voted for by the fans on the FA website. In May 2009, Unitt was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by

. At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in

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 ...

, Unitt was the only outfield member of the England squad who remained unused. On the occasion of her 90th cap, she eventually made a World Cup debut in June

, starting England's 1–1 draw with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in Wolfsburg. In March 2012 a Euro 2013 qualifier in

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 ...

saw Unitt win her 100th international cap.

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 ...

for the day, Unitt scored England's third goal in a 6–0 victory, with a diving header. A foot injury kept Unitt out of contention for a place in the

squad for the 2012 London Olympics. During her absence Steph Houghton became the first choice left–back for the national team. In May 2013 Unitt suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Birmingham's 1–1 FA WSL Cup draw with Lincoln, which ruled her out of

UEFA Women's Euro 2013 The 2013 UEFA Women's Championship, commonly referred to as Women's Euro 2013, was the 11th European Championship for List of women's national association football teams#UEFA, women's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament ...

. She was allotted 135 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.

International goals

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''

Later life

After retiring as a player, Unitt became a firefighter in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

. Her younger sister Shelly is engaged to former footballer Jill Scott.

Honours

FA Women's Premier League National Division The FA Women's Premier League National Division (originally WFA National League Premier Division) was a football division in England. From 1991–92 WFA National League Premier Division, 1991 until 2009–10 FA Women's Premier League, 2010, the ...

: 1 :2002–03 * FA Women's Cup: 4 :2001–02, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2011–12 * FA Women's Premier League Cup: 3 :2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08 * FA Women's Premier League Southern Division: 1 :2001–02 * FA Women's Community Shield: 2 : 2002–03, 2003–04 * FA International Player of the Year Award: 2 :2003–04, 2005–06

References

External links

Profile at the English FA Women's Football websiteEverton FC official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unitt, Rachel 1982 births Living people English women's footballers Everton F.C. (women) players Notts County L.F.C. players Fulham F.C. Women players London Bees players Birmingham City W.F.C. players England women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Women's Super League players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States FIFA Women's Century Club English Football Hall of Fame inductees Footballers from Walsall Women's association football fullbacks New Jersey Wildcats players Leeds City Vixens L.F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C. players British firefighters 21st-century English sportswomen British women firefighters English expatriate women's footballers