Fara Williams

Fara Williams is an English footballer, best known for playing as a central midfielder for the Reading and England national football teams. She is a consistent goalscorer who is a set-piece specialist, often considered to be one of the leading players for England. With 170 caps since her debut, Fara is the highest capped player on the England Women’s Team.

Fara began her journey into the world of Football at just 12 years old when she joined the Chelsea Ladies under 14s. Later in the 2000-01 season, she scored 30 goals for Chelsea’s first team, before signing for Charlton Athletic Ladies in the following season. Whilst at Charlton she won the Charlton’s Player Of The Year and the FA Women’s Young Player Of The Year 2001-2002.

The 2002-03 season was not particularly successful for Fara, but she returned to full form in the 2003-04 season. She played an important part in the team during their challenges for all three of the domestic trophies. Fara earnt an FA Women’s Premier League Cup winners medal after helping her team to beat Fulham in 2004. In the summer of that year, Fara moved to play for Everton Ladies where she went on to claim another League Cup Medal with the team in a match against Arsenal. Due to her performances for Everton, Fara was voted the FA Player Of The Year.

Later in 2009 Fara was selected for the Women’s Professional Soccer International Draft, but decided to stay loyal to Everton. Such loyalty was rewarded with the opportunity to play in two Cup finals during 2010. Two years later in 2012 Fara left Everton and joined the rival Liverpool team. After playing with the team for a period of time, Fara signed for Arsenal Women’s team before finally signing for the Reading football team who she currently plays for.

Fara has additionally played for the England national team, representing them in a number of esteemed competitions. She made her debut for the team in 2001, aged just 17 in a game against Portugal. In 2005 she played in all of the England group games during the Women’s Euro 2005 and also helped England qualify for the World Cup. Fara went on to play in all of the group games at the World Cup, notably scoring a penalty in the 6-1 win against Argentina. She also played in the Euro 2009 and was England’s top scorer in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Fara’s 100th cap was earnt when she played in the 2012 Cyprus Cup, competing in a match against Switzerland. During the 2012 London Olympic Games Fara formed part of the 18 player squad for Great Britain. She was also given the opportunity to compete at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, and during a match against Germany, she scored a crucial goal that earnt England their first win over Germany.

Fara has worked for charities during her time as a footballer, with the Homeless FA charity being the most prominent. Fara was rewarded with the Member of the Order of the British Empire honour in the 2016 New Years Honours for her services both to the charity and women’s football. With her commitment and passion for football very evident, Fara makes for the perfect edition for a football speaker. Available to book for a wide range of events, Fara is guaranteed to light up your next event.