Rachel Yankey

Last updated

Rachel Yankey
OBE
London Bees v Tottenham Hotspur LFC, 10 February 2019 (03) (cropped).jpg
Yankey in 2019
Personal information
Full name Rachel Aba Yankey [1]
Date of birth (1979-11-01) 1 November 1979 (age 44)
Place of birth London, England
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) [2]
Position(s) Winger, forward
Youth career
1989–1996 Mill Hill United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1996–2000 Arsenal Ladies 47 (8)
2000Laval Dynamites (loan) 25 (10)
2000–2004 Fulham Ladies 15 (6)
2004–2005 Birmingham Ladies 13 (7)
2005 New Jersey Wildcats 29 (5)
2005–2016 Arsenal Ladies 151 (43)
2016Notts County Ladies (loan) 5 (0)
Total285(79)
International career
1997–2013 England [3] 129 (19)
2012 Great Britain 5 (0)
Managerial career
2019 London Bees
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rachel Aba Yankey OBE (born 1 November 1979) is a former English footballer who played as a winger or forward.

Contents

Yankey is best known for her long association with Arsenal Ladies, for whom she played 15 seasons over two separate spells, and is ranked among the Arsenal Ladies Legends. She is one of the most decorated players in women's football, winning the FA Women's National Premier League seven times, the FA WSL twice, the FA Women's Cup eleven times, the FA Women's Premier League Cup six times and the UEFA Women's Cup once, while playing for Arsenal and Fulham Ladies.

Since making her debut in 1997, Yankey appeared on 129 occasions for the England national team and at the time became the most capped player ever to play for England, ahead of male goalkeeper Peter Shilton with 125 (though this record has since been beaten by several female players). She was the second English female player, after Gillian Coultard, to make a century of international appearances. Yankey was part of the Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.

Yankey had a brief foray into coaching, managing the London Bees from February to May 2019.

Early life

Yankey began playing football as the only girl in a boys' team. Aged eight, she shaved her hair off, pretending to be a boy called "Ray" (an acronym of her birth names). She was able to play in the boys' team for two years before her real identity was discovered. [4]

Yankey joined Mill Hill United at youth level after the club's manager, Russell Mountford, attended an annual general meeting (AGM) at Yankey's boys' club. [5] [6] She also represented Brent in the London Youth Games as a youngster, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2011.

Club career

Yankey's senior playing career began at the age of 16, playing for Arsenal, when she spent a short time on loan with Laval Dynamites, a Canadian team, and then moved to Fulham in 2000.

Yankey playing for Arsenal in 2006 Rachel Yankey2006.jpg
Yankey playing for Arsenal in 2006

It was here that she was registered as the first professional female footballer in England. She joined Birmingham City before the 2004–05 season, and then, after being released from Birmingham, had a short spell with the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League in the United States. Yankey, along with England teammate Rachel Unitt, played for the Wildcats for the last seven games of the season, and helped them win the W-League championship. She rejoined Arsenal for the 2005–06 season. In 2011, she helped Arsenal to another domestic treble.

In January 2014, Yankey signed a new two-year contract with Arsenal. She was praised by the club's general manager, Vic Akers: "She remains a key part of the team and her ability and experience will be invaluable in the season ahead." In December 2016, Yankey was released by Arsenal at the end of her contract. [7]

International career

In August 1997, Yankey made her senior England debut, scoring in a 4–0 win over Scotland at Almondvale Stadium. [8]

Yankey became arguably the most famous female footballer in England, having modelled new England kits, and appeared on the FA women's homepage header. She is also noted for appearing in the BBC's online BBC Sport 'Academy Masterclasses' mini-series, teaching young footballers basic soccer skills. [9]

In May 2009, Yankey was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts by The Football Association. [10] However, in August 2009 she was surprisingly left out of coach Hope Powell's 22–player squad for Euro 2009 [11] with Powell believing that her form did not justify a call–up. Yankey was also overlooked for the 2011 Women's World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Turkey. But after a return to form with Arsenal Ladies, she was recalled by Powell for the 2010 Cyprus Cup, [12] and won her 90th and 91st caps – as a 76th-minute substitute for Jessica Clarke in a 1–0 win over South Africa and as a starter in a 1–0 defeat to Canada.

A return to form at both club and international level saw Yankey being selected regularly again by Powell, and on 29 July 2010, Yankey became the second Englishwoman after Gillian Coultard to earn 100 caps during a home World Cup qualifier against Turkey. Yankey, who was captain for the night, scored a goal and played the entire 90 minutes as England won 3–0. [13]

In a World Cup warm–up friendly against the United States, Yankey hit the second goal in England's 2–1 win at Brisbane Road. [14] At the final tournament, Yankey netted in England's 2–0 group B win over Japan after coming on as a half–time substitute. [15]

In June 2012, Yankey equalled Coultard's record of 119 appearances for England in a 4–0 win in Slovenia. [16] She set a new record of 120 caps by playing in England's 3–0 win over Croatia at Bescot Stadium on 19 September 2012. [17] In June 2013 Yankey played in a 1–1 friendly draw with Japan and broke Peter Shilton's all-time national record of 125 caps. [18] She was included in the England squad which performed poorly at UEFA Women's Euro 2013 and was eliminated in the first round. [19]

Incoming England manager Mark Sampson left Yankey out of his first squad in December 2013. [20] He stressed that "the door is firmly open" for her to come back in. [21]

She was allotted 126 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England's inaugural international. [22] [23]

Yankey at the 2012 London Summer Olympics Rachel Yankey 2012.jpg
Yankey at the 2012 London Summer Olympics

In June 2012, Yankey was named in the 18–player Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics. [24]

Coaching career

Yankey was announced as a first team coach of London Bees in June 2018. [25] Following the departure of Luke Swindlehurst in February 2019 to become head coach of Barnet's under-18s team, Yankey was appointed Head Coach. [26] She left the club in May 2019. [27]

Personal life

When not playing, or practising, Yankey works as a coach in schools, teaching football to children. [28] This includes hosting a CBeebies programme, Footy Pups. [29] It was reported that Yankey's middle name came about as her mother was a fan of ABBA, the Swedish pop group. [30] However in 2010, Yankey indicated that it was actually related to her Ghanaian heritage. [31]

Career statistics

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yankey goal.
List of international goals scored by Rachel Yankey
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
124 August 1997 Almondvale Stadium, Livingston, ScotlandFlag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 4–0 Friendly
213 September 1998 Câmpina, RomaniaFlag of Romania.svg  Romania 4–1 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
328 November 2000 Brisbane Road, London, EnglandFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 2–0 2001 UEFA Women's Championship qualification
427 September 2001 Auestadion, Kassel, GermanyFlag of Germany.svg  Germany 1–3 2003 FIFA World Cup qualification
54 September 2003 Turf Moor, Burnley, EnglandFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1–0Friendly
69 March 2005 Faro, PortugalFlag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 4–0 Algarve Cup
7
813 March 2005Estádio Fernando Cabrita, Lagos, PortugalFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 5–0Algarve Cup
927 October 2005 Tapolca, HungaryFlag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 13–0 2007 FIFA World Cup qualification
1031 August 2006 The Valley, London, EnglandFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 4–02007 FIFA World Cup qualification
118 March 2007 National Hockey Stadium, Milton Keynes, EnglandFlag of Russia.svg  Russia 6–0Friendly
1217 May 2007 Roots Hall, Southend, EnglandFlag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 4–0Friendly
1311 February 2009 Larnaca, CyprusFlag of Finland.svg  Finland 4–1Friendly
1429 July 2010 Bescot Stadium, Walsall, EnglandFlag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 3–0 2011 FIFA World Cup qualification
152 April 2011Brisbane Road, London, EnglandFlag of the United States.svg  United States 2–1Friendly
165 July 2011 Impuls Arena, Augsburg, GermanyFlag of Japan.svg  Japan 2–0 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
1717 September 2011 Omladinski stadion, Belgrade, SerbiaFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 2–2 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
1822 September 2011 County Ground, Swindon, EnglandFlag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 4–0UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
1917 June 2012 Salford City Stadium, EnglandFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1–0UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
2013 March 2013 GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, CyprusFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 1–0 2013 Cyprus Cup Final

Honours

Yankey in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup RachelYankey.jpg
Yankey in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup

Arsenal

Fulham

New Jersey Wildcats

Individual

Yankey was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours [34] and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours, [35] both for services to football.

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