Drew_Spence

Drew Spence

Drew Spence

Jamaican footballer (born 1992)

Drew Spence (born 23 October 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for FA WSL club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in England, she played for the England women's national football team in 2015 and currently represents Jamaica since 2021.

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Club career

Chelsea

Chelsea and England teammate Gilly Flaherty recalled playing alongside Spence in the Arsenal Centre of Excellence.[1] Spence progressed to Fulham's youth team, before signing for Chelsea in 2008.[2]

Spence and Chelsea reached the FA Women's Cup final for the first time in 2012, but were eventually beaten by Birmingham City in a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw. Spence's effort was saved by Becky Spencer.[3] In 2015, Spence won her first ever major trophy, in the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Spence secured her first FA WSL title as her team beat Sunderland 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the League and Cup "double".[4] At the end of the season Spence signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.[5]

During a 5–0 thrashing by Arsenal in October 2018, Spence left Kim Little nursing a broken leg with what Arsenal's website described as a "heavy tackle". The match officials were criticised for failing to send off Spence, who left Little ruled out for around ten weeks.[6] In 2020 Spence signed a new contract that will see her stay with Chelsea until 2022.

Tottenham Hotspur

In June 2022, Spence signed a two-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur, leaving Chelsea as their longest serving player.[7]

International career

National coach Mark Sampson gave Spence her first senior call up in October 2015, in an understrength squad for the 2015 Yongchuan International Tournament.[8] She won her first England cap on 23 October 2015, as a substitute in England's 2–1 defeat by China in Yongchuan.[9]

In September 2017, Spence's Chelsea team-mate Eniola Aluko was pursuing allegations of racial discrimination against The FA through the pages of The Guardian newspaper. Spence was drawn into the controversy when she was revealed as the previously-anonymous "The Player" who was said to have been "upset and offended" by Mark Sampson on the trip to China.[10]

In November 2022, Spence was recognized by The Football Association as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 192nd women's player to be capped by England.[11][12]

Spence also qualifies for Jamaica through her heritage and gets her first call-up to Reggae Girlz for June international break camp. She made her debut on 24 October 2021.[13]

International goals

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Personal life

Spence's brother Lewwis Spence is also a professional footballer.[14]

Honours

Chelsea[15]

Individual

References

  1. [1]
    Flaherty, Gilly (2 April 2015). "Chelsea Ladies One by One". Chelsea L.F.C. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  2. [2]
    Randall, James (12 November 2015). "Drew: Let's keep the Wolf from the door". The Football League Paper. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. [3]
    Nisbet, John (27 May 2012). "Shoot-out has unhappy ending for Chelsea Ladies". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  4. [4]
    Garry, Tom (4 October 2015). "WSL 1: Chelsea Ladies 4–0 Sunderland Ladies". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Ladies Preview: Spence Seeks Solidity". Chelsea L.F.C. 11 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Kim Little: Lucy Bronze criticises officials as Arsenal's Scotland midfielder fractures leg". BBC Sport. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Drew Spence completes move". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  8. [8]
    Lavery, Glenn (21 October 2015). "Laura Coombs determined to grab her England chance in China". The Football Association. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  9. [9]
    "England women beaten by China despite Eniola Aluko goal". BBC Sport. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. [10]
    Taylor, Daniel (14 September 2017). "FA may launch new Mark Sampson inquiry after Drew Spence intervention". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  11. [11]
    "ENGLAND PLAYER LEGACY AND RESULTS ARCHIVE" (Press release). The Football Association. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  12. [12]
    Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". Mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  13. [13]
    Official J. F. F. "Four International debuts for the #ReggaeGirlz! Murray, Bailey, Spence and Gayle all start ✊🏿 . #ReggaeGirlz #JAMvCR #Rooted2Rise #ReggaeGirlzFoundation #StrikeHard #JFF_Football" – via Twitter.
  14. [14]
    "Spence siblings complete Wembley dream as Hornchurch skipper Lewwis follows in Drew's footsteps". The Herald. 22 May 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Drew Spence Profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Dumornay, Lavelle and Shaw headline CMU20 Best XI". CONCACAF. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
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