Claire Rafferty
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Claire Lauren Rafferty[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 January 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Orpington, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Playing position | Left Back/Left Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Chelsea Ladies | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kent Magpies | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2007 | Millwall Lionesses | ||
| 2007– | Chelsea Ladies | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010– | England | 7 | (0) |
| 2012– | Great Britain | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Claire Lauren Rafferty (born 11 January 1989) is an English female international footballer. She plays as a left back or left winger for Chelsea Ladies in the FA WSL.
Club career
Rafferty became a first team regular with Millwall Lionesses as a 14-year-old.[3] After recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury,[3] she signed for Chelsea Ladies in 2007[4] and became a regular on the left of midfield.[5]
In August 2011 Rafferty suffered another ACL injury.[6] She returned to the Chelsea team as a substitute in their televised 2012 FA WSL opening game against Doncaster Rovers Belles. Earlier in April 2012 Rafferty had been appointed as one of eight digital media ambassadors, one from each team, who wear their Twitter account name on their sleeves to raise the profile of the WSL.[7]
International career
England
Rafferty was involved with England at U15 development, U17, U19, U20 and U23 level.[8] She had been called into the U19 squad at the age of 15.[3] Her full debut came on 25 March 2010 against Austria.[8]
In June 2011 Rafferty was named in the 21–player squad for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. At the quarter final stage of the competition against France, she was substituted on for regular left back Rachel Unitt in the 81st minute, to make her World Cup debut. England coach Hope Powell considered Rafferty better equipped to cope with the pace of Élodie Thomis.[9]
When the match finished 1–1 after extra-time, Rafferty missed England's fourth penalty in the shootout, sending her spot kick wide of the post.[9] Although England were knocked out when Faye White also missed, Hope Powell praised Rafferty for stepping forward when other, more experienced team mates were exhibiting "cowardice."[10]
Great Britain Olympic
In June 2012 Rafferty was named in the 18–player Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.[11]
Personal life
She studied economics at Loughborough University, and graduated in 2011.[12]
References
- ↑ "Player Statistics". FIFA. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
- ↑ "List of Players". FIFA. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Congratulations Claire". Millwall FC. 29 November 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
- ↑ "Chelsea Ladies Start Season". Chelsea FC. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ "Claire Rafferty". Chelsea FC. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ "Injured Kelly Smith missing from England squad". BBC Sport. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
- ↑ "Women's Super League launches Twitter kit initiative to raise profile". BBC Sport. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Claire Rafferty". TheFA.com. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chris Bevan (9 July 2011). "Women's World Cup: England 1–1 France (France win 4–3 on pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ Greg Leedham (11 July 2011). "Powell blasts England 'cowards'". Morning Star. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ "Team GB women's squad for London 2012 announced". BBC Sport. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ↑ "Who's who in the England women's squad?". BBC Sport. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
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