Jessica Carter

Jessica Leigh Carter (born 27 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Gotham FC and the England national team. She began her senior career at Birmingham City and has represented England from under-19 to under-23 youth level.

In 2017, Carter was awarded PFA Young Player of the Year and named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year. With Chelsea, she has won multiple WSL titles, FA Cups, and League Cups; with England, Carter is a two-time European Championship winner, a Finalissima winner, as well as a World Cup runner-up.

Early life Carter was born in England to an African American father and British mother, and holds both British and American citizenship. As a youth, Carter captained the Warwick Juniors to the County Cup championship; a plaque honouring Carter was installed at the club in 2022 as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign. Club career

Birmingham City In June 2013, Carter joined the Birmingham City Academy. In March 2014 at the age of 16, she made her debut for Birmingham City in a match against Arsenal in the first leg of the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final. She was subsequently named player of the match.

Chelsea

In June 2018, Carter joined Chelsea on a three-year contract from Birmingham City. In the 2018–19 season she made only 16 starts in games, six of which came from the League Cup.

In January 2020, in the 2019–20 season, Carter scored her debut goal for the club in a 6–1 win over Bristol City. On 2 May 2021, Carter helped Chelsea reach the Champions League final, She featured in the final two weeks later as right-back, where she struggled against Barcelona's exceptional wide-play, resulting in a 4–0 defeat. Carter nonetheless ended the 2020–21 season as a domestic treble winner with Chelsea. forming the key part of the defensive back three with teammates Millie Bright and Magdalena Eriksson.

In October 2022, Carter extended her Chelsea contract to remain at the club as a defender until 2025. On 23 November 2022, Carter made her 100th appearance for the club against Real Madrid.

On 25 May 2025, she started in the 2025 CONCACAF W Champions Cup final against Tigres, where Gotham won 1–0 to become the inaugural winners of the competition. On 22nd of November, she won the NWSL Championship with Gotham.

After Gotham's opening four in the 2026 season, Carter received her first NWSL Team of the Month honor after helping her team keep three clean sheets in that timespan.

International career

Youth Carter has represented England in the U19, U20, U21 and U23 youth teams.

In January 2014, during her debut for the England under-19 team, she scored against Norway. In April, Carter played as a forward in the 2014 U-19 Championship qualification matches against Denmark and Finland, with England qualifying for the final tournament. On 18 June 2014, she featured in the under-23 squad in the Nordic Tournament, losing 3–0 to Norway. In July, Carter was named as part of the under-20 squad for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, as a forward player.

After her senior international debut in 2017, In April 2019, she featured as part of the starting eleven in England's 2–1 victory over France, followed by being sent off for a second bookable offence in a loss to Norway.

Senior In April 2017, after her earlier role as striker in England's youth teams, Carter received her first call up to the senior team, as a defender, for fixtures against Italy and Austria. On 28 November 2017, she made her senior international debut in 2019 World Cup qualification against Kazakhstan, replacing Lucy Bronze in the 77th minute as England won 5–0.

In June 2022, after not playing for the senior team from 2017 to 2021, playing a total of 16 minutes in the tournament. In November 2022, Carter was allotted 201 in the FA legacy numbers scheme.

In May 2023, Carter was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. She started in five of six matches in the tournament, as an integral part of England's back three, In the final and playing as a right-back, where England lost 1–0 to Spain, Carter was ranked second best player for England by BBC Sport, after goalkeeper Mary Earps. During the tournament, she was subjected to racist abuse on social media, prompting police involvement. She returned to the starting eleven for the final, helping England secure a victory over Spain on penalties to claim their second European title. A 59-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of malicious communications in connection with the abuse and released under investigation. In March 2026, the man was sentenced to six weeks in prison, with the sentence suspended for a year, as well as a four-year football banning order by District Judge Tony Watkin of the Blackburn Magistrates' Court.

Style of play Carter has been described by Jonathan Liew as calm in possession, relatively error-free, and with "exceptional read of the game".

Early in her career from 2013 to 2018, Carter begun as a defender and midfielder for Birmingham City,

Personal life Since 2017, Carter has been in a relationship with fellow professional footballer Ann-Katrin Berger. In May 2024, they announced their engagement.

Carter is the Co-Founder and an ambassador for an all-female football academy run by former Barcelona & Arsenal youth player, Judan Ali.

She also has a train named after her in England.

Career statistics Club

International Statistics accurate as of match played 9 June 2026.

Scores and results list England's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Carter goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Jess CarterNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 30 November 2021 Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, England 10–0 20–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification 2 23 February 2024 Estadio Nuevo Mirador, Algeciras, Spain 5–1 7–2 Friendly 3 9 June 2026 Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, England 1–0 3–0 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Honours Chelsea FA Women's Super League: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 FA Community Shield: 2020 Women's FA Cup: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23 FA Women's League Cup: 2019–20, 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League runner-up: 2020–21

Gotham FC CONCACAF W Champions Cup: 2024–25 NWSL Championship: 2025 FIFA Women's Champions Cup third place: 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup: 2026

England

FIFA Women's World Cup runner-up: 2023 UEFA Women's Championship: 2022, 2025 Arnold Clark Cup: 2022, 2023

Individual FA WSL PFA Team of the Year: 2017 PFA Young Player of the Year: 2016–17 Freedom of the City of London (announced 1 August 2022) PFA Community Champion Award: 2022–23 Chelsea Women's Player's Player of the Year: 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League Team of the Season: 2023–24 PFA Special Recognition Award: 2025 Key to the City of New York The Guardian Footballer of the Year: 2025 Member of the Order of the British Empire: 2026