Sophie Katrina Walton (born 7 November 1989) is an English retired

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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. She played for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. She represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at youth level.

Club career

Walton grew up in

Sherburn-in-Elmet Sherburn in Elmet (pronounced ) is a town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Selby and south of Tadcaster. It was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974. From 1974 to 2023 i ...

and played football for Sherburn White Rose before joining

under-12s at the age of nine. In September 2005, she made her

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 ...

debut for Leeds in a 2–0 defeat at

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

. On 11 February 2010 Walton started a 3–1 Premier League Cup final win over Everton, to help Leeds win their first major silverware, following defeats in the

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 ...

finals of 2006 and 2008, as well as the Premier League Cup final in 2007. When Leeds failed to gain entry to the new

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 ...

, Walton reportedly signed for local rivals

. But when the inaugural

2011 FA WSL The 2011 FA WSL was the inaugural season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 13 April 2011 and ended on 28 August 2011. The league also took a break between 12 May and mid-July to allow preparatio ...

season started, Walton instead lined up for Lincoln Ladies. She remained with the club after their relocation to Notts County for the

2014 FA WSL The 2014 FA WSL 1 was the fourth season of the FA WSL, the top-level women's football league of England. The season began on 30 March and ended on 12 October. Liverpool L.F.C. are the defending champions from the 2013 FA WSL. The top two tea ...

season, and played in the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final, a 1–0 defeat by Chelsea at

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 ...

. Walton left Notts County on the expiry of her contract and sat out the 2016 season due to pregnancy and childbirth. She agreed to join

FA WSL 2 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 ...

club Doncaster Rovers Belles in January 2017. Doncaster Rovers Belles won the WSL 2 league title but renounced their place in the new

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 ...

, sparking a player exodus which saw Walton join Guiseley Vixens in July 2018. She retired in April 2022.

International career

Walton represented

at Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-23 level, as well as at the

2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 4th edition of the tournament. It was held in Chile between 19 November and 7 December 2008. Sixteen teams, comprising representatives from all six confederations, took part in the final competition, i ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Personal life

Her older brother

Simon Walton Simon William Walton (born 13 September 1987) is an English footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Havant & Waterlooville. He has played in the Football League for Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers ...

is also a footballer, who began his own career at Leeds United. In August 2016 Walton gave birth to a son Alfie-J, with her footballer partner Jake Cassidy. She graduated from

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the Leeds city centre, city centre and Hea ...

with a business management degree and founded a modelling agency at the age of 23, which she later put on hold to focus on football. Both Sophie and Simon Walton studied at Boston Spa Academy during their time as Leeds United Academy scholars.

References

External links

* *
Doncaster Rovers Belles player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Sophie Living people 1989 births English women's footballers Women's association football midfielders Women's Super League players FA Women's National League players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Notts County L.F.C. players Leeds United Women F.C. players Footballers from Leeds People from Sherburn in Elmet People educated at Boston Spa Academy Sheffield United F.C. Women players Women's Super League 2 players Leeds City Vixens L.F.C. players Nottingham Forest Women F.C. players England women's youth international footballers England women's under-23 international footballers 21st-century English sportswomen