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Clare Wheatley
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-02-04) 4 February 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Wing back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps ( Gls)
–1993 Sheffield Wednesday
1993–1995 Arsenal Ladies
1995–2001 Arsenal Ladies
2004–2005 Arsenal Ladies
International career
1996 England 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Clare Wheatley (born 4 February 1971) is a football administrator and former player for Arsenal Ladies who played as a wing back. [1]

Playing career

Wheatley started playing football at her grammar school before the school banned its pupils from playing football. When she was studying to be a Physical Education teacher at Sheffield City Polytechnic, she joined Sheffield Wednesday Ladies. [2] In 1993, she played for Chelsea Ladies. In 1995, after a successful training camp, she joined Arsenal Ladies and was reminded by manager Vic Akers "Arsenal Ladies is not a social club". [2] A year later she made her debut for the England women's national football team as a substitute. [2] In 1997, she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in a match against Millwall Lionesses, which meant she could not play for a whole season nor do her job as a PE teacher, but she returned in 1998. [2] Following her return, she did not receive another England call-up. [2] In 2001, following an injury playing against Doncaster Belles, Wheatley was forced to retire. [3] In 2004, she came out of retirement to play two more seasons for Arsenal before again retiring from playing in 2005. [2]

She was allotted 115 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international. [4] [5]

Administration

During Wheatley's time injured in 1997, Akers had been appointed as kitman for Arsenal, so she could take over his role as club development officer. [2] [6] When she had to give up playing, she remained as the club's development officer. In 2014, when Akers retired, Wheatley succeeded him as the General Manager of Arsenal Ladies. [7] In 2020, Arsenal Women were fined £50,000 for discrimination after it was found by a Football Association tribunal that Wheatley had fired a youth coach who had been diagnosed with autism. [8]


Honours

Arsenal

References

  1. ^ "Clare Wheatley". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Players: Clare Wheatley". Women's Football Archive. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Arsenal see off Belles again". BBC Sport. 26 August 2001. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  4. ^ "England squad named for World Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  5. ^ Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  6. ^ Magowan, Alistair (20 September 2007). "Women's game struggles to recruit". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Vic Akers is handed new role at Arsenal Ladies as Clare Wheatley becomes general manager". Islington Tribune. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  8. ^ Williams, Wyn (10 December 2019). "IN THE MATTER OF A REGULATORY COMMISSION OF THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION and ARSENAL WOMEN FC: DECISION". Football Association. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021.