Fran Kirby

Fran Kirby

Kirby lining up for England in 2015
Personal information
Full nameFrancesca Kirby
Date of birth29 June 1993
Place of birthReading, England
Height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Playing positionForward
Club information
Current team
Reading
Number11
Youth career
2001–2010Reading
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2012–Reading40(66)
National team‡
2013–England U234(1)
2014–England8(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 April 2015

Francesca "Fran" Kirby (born 29 June 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays for Reading in the FA WSL and the England national team, as a forward.

Club career

Kirby joined her hometown club Reading at the age of seven and worked her way through the youth teams. She made her debut for the first team at the age of sixteen but quit football the following year after an onset of depression.[1][2] Kirby returned to the club in 2012 and went on to become the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division's top scorer for the 2012-13 season, with 32 goals in twenty-one appearances.[3]

With Reading promoted to the newly formed Women's Super League 2 for 2014, Kirby helped the team achieve third place with 24 goals in sixteen appearances.[4] She ended the season as the league's top goalscorer; netting four against London Bees,[5] as well as hat-tricks against Durham, Watford and Doncaster Rovers Belles.[6][7][8] Shortly after, she became the first player to receive a professional contract from the club.[9] At the 2014 FA Women's Awards, Kirby was named the inaugural WSL2 Players' Player of the Year.[10]

Kirby continued her goalscoring form into the 2015 WSL2 season, taking nine goals in her first two league appearances for Reading. She netted all four goals in a 4–2 away win against Yeovil Town and grabbed five goals in a 7–0 win against London Bees.[11][12]

International career

Kirby has competed as a member of the England under-23 squad. She became the first WSL 2 player to be called up to the senior squad, in June 2014 for the World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Ukraine.[13] She was named on the bench against Belarus but did not make an appearance. She made her senior international debut against Sweden in August 2014, getting the second goal in a 4-0 win.[14] Her second international goal came in April 2015, scoring the winning goal in a friendly against China.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Hassan, Nabil (17 March 2015). "Fran Kirby: England & Reading forward on overcoming adversity". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Kessel, Anna (27 December 2014). "England forward Fran Kirby aiming for greatness at women’s World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Southern Division Player Stats 2012/13". The Football Association. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "WSL Player Stats". FA WSL. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "London Bees 1 - 9 Reading FC Women". FA WSL. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Reading FC Women 4 - 0 Durham Women FC". FA WSL. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Hat-Trick Heroine Kirby". FA WSL. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Stunning Reading Silence the Belles". FA WSL. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Trehan, Dev (24 March 2015). "England striker Fran Kirby says Reading means 'everything' to her". Sky Sports. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "Ji So-Yun named FA WSL 1 Players' Player of the Year". The Football Association. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "Royals defeat Glovers to kick of 2015 Campaign". FA WSL. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Royals take the sting out of the Bees in the Hive". FA WSL. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Mark Sampson announces 23-player squad for crunch qualifiers". The Football Association. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Reid, James. "Ruthless England Women defeat Sweden in Hartlepool". The Football Association. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (9 April 2015). "England 2-1 China: Fran Kirby hits winner for Mark Sampson's side". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 April 2015.

External links