Marissa Callaghan

Last updated

Marissa Callaghan
MBE
2014-05-08 Sverige - Nordirland 3 - 0 (A 90 5538) (cropped).jpg
Marissa Callaghan (center) in a match with Sweden (2005)
Personal information
Full name Marissa James Callaghan
Date of birth (1985-09-02) 2 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Cliftonville
Youth career
Newington Girls
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2005–2025 Cliftonville
International career‡
2010–2025 Northern Ireland 91 (9)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:55, 13 July 2022 (UTC)

Marissa James Callaghan MBE (born 2 September 1985) is a Northern Irish football midfielder who plays for Cliftonville Ladies and the Northern Ireland national team

Contents

Early career

Callaghan started playing football at 13 for the Newington Girls (now known as Cliftonville Ladies). [1] After this, she went to university in the United States on a football scholarship. [2] She returned to Northern Ireland in 2005 and started playing for Cliftonville again. She graduated with an advanced certificate in sports coaching from the University of Ulster in 2017. [2] As a result, she also volunteered as a coach for Cliftonville Ladies. [3] Later she became their academy director. [3]

With Northern Ireland

Callaghan made her international debut for the Northern Ireland women's national under-19 football team in 2002. [4] She made her debut for Northern Ireland in 2010. [4] In 2016, Callaghan was awarded the Northern Ireland Women's Football Association Women's Personality of the Year award. [1] A year later she was the tournament ambassador for the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship being held in Northern Ireland. [1]

Callaghan was part of the squad that was called up to the UEFA Women's Euro 2022. [5] She also captained the Northern Ireland team at Euro 2022. [6]

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
4.9 March 2015Umag 4, Umag, Croatia Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1–01–2 2015 Istria Cup
5.3 June 2016 Solitude, Belfast, Northern Ireland Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 2–04–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
6.3–0
7.13 April 2021 Seaview, Belfast, Northern IrelandFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 1–02–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying play-offs
8.17 September 2021 Inver Park, Larne, Northern IrelandFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 1–04–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
9.21 September 2021Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern IrelandFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 3–04–0

Career

After leaving university, Callaghan started working full-time in 2010 as a women's football community coach. [7] In 2016, Callaghan was selected as a women's football ambassador for the Irish Football Association. [8] Following this, she worked with Northern Ireland national football team captain Steven Davis to promote participation in women's youth football. [9]

Personal life

Callaghan is a Roman Catholic and has discussed representing Northern Ireland and the need of a national anthem that could represent a common identity to both Catholics and Protestants. [10] She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to Association Football and to the community in Northern Ireland. [11] She is married to her partner Paula and they have one son together. [12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "2017 UEFA Women's European Championship official programme" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Ulster University graduate has her eye on the ball". University of Ulster. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 Johnny Morton (10 July 2017). "Marissa Callaghan looking to inspire the next generation after recent graduation". Belfast Live. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. 1 2 FIFA Women's World Cup. "Marissa Callaghan". UEFA. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Northern Ireland UEFA Women's Euro squad announced". Irish FA. 27 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "'Incredible journey': Northern Ireland captain Callaghan upbeat for Euro 2022". Guardian. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Football star Marissa Callaghan aims to inspire others". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "Women Ambassadors announced". Irish Football Association. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  9. ↑ Chris Sherrard (31 May 2017). "Northern Ireland football captains unite for Electric Ireland campaign". Belfast Live. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Northern Ireland should have their own anthem identity - NI women's captain Marissa Callaghan, BBC Sport, 7 December 2021
  11. ↑ "No. 64607". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2024. p. N17.
  12. ↑ L-Mag.de: Das sind die 59 lesbischen Stars der Fussball-EM 2022 (German), July 2022
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