Rachel Yankey

Infobox Football biography
playername = Rachel Yankey MBE


fullname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age |1979|11|1
cityofbirth = flagicon|England London
countryofbirth = England
height = height|ft=5|in=5
nickname = Yanks
position = Midfielder
currentclub = flagicon|England Arsenal Ladies
clubnumber = 11
youthyears = 1989 –
youthclubs = Mill Hill United
years = 1996 – 2000
2000
2000 – ?
2004 – 2005
2005
2005 – present
clubs = Arsenal Ladies
Lavalle Dynamites - (on loan)
Fulham Ladies
Birmingham Ladies
New Jersey Wildcats
Arsenal Ladies
caps(goals) =




037 (18) [cite web |url=http://www.arsenal.com/player.asp?thisNav=ladies&plid=60444&clid=4433&cpid=703 |title=11. Rachel Yankey |accessdate=2007-04-21 |work=Official website |publisher=Arsenal F.C.]
nationalyears = 1997 – present
nationalteam = flagicon|England England
nationalcaps(goals) = 082 (11) [cite web|url=http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/PlayersAndCoaches/Postings/2004/10/RachelYankey_profile.htm |title=Rachel Yankey, Arsenal |accessdate=2007-04-21 |work=Official website |publisher=The FA]
pcupdate = 20 May 2007
ntupdate = 22 September 2007

Rachel Yankey MBE (born November 1, 1979 in London) is an English football player. She plays for the English side Arsenal, and for the England national team. She plays as a forward, and wears the number 11 for Arsenal and England. She is of Ghanaian decent, from her father's side.

Career

Rachel began playing football with a boy's team, before joining Mill Hill United at youth level. Her playing career began at the age of 16, playing for Arsenal, when she spent a short time on loan with Laval Dynamite, a Canadian team, and then moved to Fulham. It was here that she was registered as the first professional female footballer in England. She joined Birmingham City before the 2004/2005 season, and then, after being released from Birmingham, rejoined Arsenal for the 2005/2006 season after a short spell with the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League in the U.S.. She, along with England team mate Rachel Unitt, played for the Wildcats for the last seven games of the season, and helped them win the W-League championship.

Rachel is arguably the most famous female footballer in England, having modelled the last two new England kits, and appearing on the FA women's homepage header. She is also famous for starring in the BBC's online BBC Sport 'Academy Masterclasses' mini-series, teaching young footballers basic soccer skills.

Honours

;Personal
*In 2006 was awarded an MBE for services to football in the Queen's New Year honours list [cite web |publisher=BBC.co.uk |title=New Year's Honours |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/4570808.stm |accessdate=November 4 |accessyear=2006 ]
*Nationwide International Player of the Year ( 2004/2005) season.;Team
*UEFA Women's Cup (2007) - Rachel was part of the Arsenal team that made history by being the first team outside Germany or Scandinavia to win it. [cite web |url=http://www.arsenal.com/matchreport.asp?thisNav=fixtures&fxid=311081 |title=Match Report |author=Chris Harris |accessdate=2007-05-09 |date=29 April 2007 |work=Arsenal Official website |publisher=Arsenal]
*FA Women's Cup - Rachel has won it seven times, five with Arsenal (1998, 1999, 2006, 2007 [cite web |url=http://www.arsenal.com/matchreport.asp?thisNav=ladies&fxid=306538&cpid=703&clid=4433&title=FA+Cup+Final:+Charlton+1-4+Arsenal |title=Match Report |accessdate=2007-05-09 |author=Chris Harris |date=7 May 2007 |work=Arsenal Official website |publisher=Arsenal] , 2008), and twice with Fulham (2002, 2003).
*FA Women's National Premier League - (Fulham) 2003, (Arsenal) 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008
*FA Women's Premier League Cup - (Fulham) 2002, 2003, (Arsenal) 1998, 1999, 2007
*W-League championship (US) - (New Jersey Wildcats) 2005
* Rachel was in the Arsenal team that were quadruple winners in 2006/2007, winning the UEFA Women's Cup, FA Women's National Premier League, FA Women's Cup and the FA Women's Premier League Cup. [cite web |url=http://www.thefa.com/Womens/TheFAWomensCup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2007/05/FAWCMatchReport.htm |title=Arsenal clinch quadruple |accessdate=2007-05-09 |date=7 May 2007 |author=Stuart Mawhinney |work=FA women's cup |publisher=The Football Association] [cite web |url=http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=Ladies&article=344199&Title=Ladies+Honours |title=Arsenal Ladies Honours |accessdate=2007-05-09 |work=Arsenal Official website |publisher=Arsenal]
*She was part of Fulham's treble winning team of 2002/03, when they won the FA Women's Cup, the Women's League Cup, and the FA Women's National Premier League.

Rachel has yet to win any honours with the England team.

Miscellanea

* Her role model is Ian Wright.

* She was the only girl in the youth team that she played for.

* Normally eats a plate of Chicken and Rice on the night before a match.

* She is currently the most capped player in the England team.

* When not playing, or practising, Rachel spends a lot of her time at schools teaching football to children.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.thefa.com/Womens/EnglandSenior/PlayersAndCoaches/Postings/2004/10/RachelYankey_profile.htm Short profile] - from TheFA.com
* [http://www.arsenal.com/player.asp?thisNav=ladies&plid=60444&clid=4433&cpid=703 Player page] - from the Arsenal homepage
* [http://www.njwildcats.com/players/YankeyR/index_E.html Short profile] - from the New Jersey Wildcats homepage
* [http://rachelyankey.com/index.htm Rachelyankey.com] Rachel Yankey's website
* [http://news.billinge.com/sportacademy/hi/sa/football/video_masterclasses/newsid_4606000/4606675.stm BBC Academy] - which contains the Masterclasses Mini-Series

Persondata
NAME=Yankey, Rachel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Arsenal and England ladies footballer
DATE OF BIRTH=November 1, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH=London, England
DATE OF DEATH=Living
PLACE OF DEATH=