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professional players and pundits Karen Carney She is following in the footsteps of many footballers before her as a contestant this year strictly come dance series.
The 38-year-old former England player and ITV’s leading female sports presenter was announced to be taking part in the show this August, describing her booking as “a dream come true”.
She said: “I’m a huge fan of the show and I can’t believe I’m finally getting the chance to take part in it. I’m so excited to meet everyone and dance!”
Carney has played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and the Lionesses. She is England’s third most capped player with 144 caps.
He competed in four World Cups, four European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics before retiring in 2019. He was awarded an MBE in 2017 and an OBE in 2024 for services to association football.
Carney, nicknamed “The Wizard” for his skillful wing play, grew up in Birmingham and was inducted into Birmingham City’s Hall of Fame in 2015, followed by the English Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
The footballer said of his upbringing in 2019: “I’m from Birmingham: my mum works in Sainsbury’s, my dad’s a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I don’t need a Bentley; I don’t need a Rolex.”
Carney began her football career when she joined Birmingham City Ladies at the age of 11. She made her first-team debut for the club three years later in the FA Women’s Premier League National Division.
In both 2005 and 2006, he was awarded the FA National Young Player of the Year Award.
The same year, Carney made his England debut and went on to win 143 caps and score 32 goals. “Playing for England was my ultimate ambition and to do so at four World Cups and represent Team GB at the home Olympics was beyond my early dreams,” he later reflected on his international career.
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Carney joined Arsenal in 2006 and won four major honors that season: the FA Women’s Premier League, FA Women’s Cup, FA Women’s Premier League Cup and UEFA Women’s Cup.
Three years later, following the announcement of a new professional league in the States, Carney was selected to play for the Chicago Red Stars on a two-year contract before returning to Birmingham City in 2011 and moving to Chelsea four years later.
She was named the club’s Player of the Year during the 2016 Women’s Super League, with Chelsea winning the WSL in three of her five years at the club.
In 2018, after a ninth-minute penalty helped Chelsea win the Women’s Champions League over Fiorentina, Carney was the subject of sexual abuse and death threats by an Instagram user.
Although Carney declined to lay charges, the Football Association of England called for police involvement.
“This kind of abuse is disgusting, completely unacceptable and deeply disturbing,” Carney said of the “hateful messages” aimed at him and his teammates at the time. She retired after that season.
“I am incredibly proud to have achieved so much in the game,” the player said when announcing his exit from club and international football in 2019.
She further added, “The thing I will miss the most is singing [national] The song, but also the kicking of the ball. But now is definitely the right time to retire. I don’t think I have anything else in the tank.
“I have given my heart and soul to club and country, there is nothing more I can give physically or mentally. I have no regrets.”
Since retiring, Carney has become the lead female pundit for both men’s and women’s football at ITV and TNT.
As well as his on-screen career, Carney also writes columns for Guardian And bbc sport and co-host long story short Podcast with his fellow former Lioness, Jill Scott.