Georgia Marie Stanway was born on 3 January 1999 inBarrow-in-Furness, inCumbria,[1] one of four siblings with three brothers, one of whom (Wyll Stanway) would also go on to be a professional footballer. She began playing football at a young age, as it was what her brothers did, and at the age of three was training with them in an under-7 team, saying that at that age she "didn't know what I was doing, I was just kicking the ball, but I loved it."[5] She continued playing for boys' teams until she was thirteen;[5] in 2022, as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, a plaque honouring Stanway was installed at Furness Rovers.[6] As well as football, Stanway played cricket alongside her brothers, and representedCumbria incounty cricket at under-13 and under-17 level.[7]
She also represented Cumbria in football, playing for Cumbria Schoolgirls inEnglish Schools' Football Association competitions at regional level in 2013 and 2014; though the county team lost all their matches, Stanway was selected for the newly createdEngland Schoolgirls under-15 international squad that won the Bob Docherty Cup in 2014.[8][9] She was the only player to score in all of their matches.[3] Stanway then left Cumbria for Manchester aged sixteen to pursue a professional football career, joiningManchester City.[5] Having attended theDowdales School in Cumbria,[7] she attendedSt Bede's College in Manchester, as teammateKeira Walsh had before her.[10]
Stanway started her career atBlackburn Rovers, playing through the youth system.[11]
In the 2013–14 season she played for the under-15 team, making fifteen appearances and scoring ten of their twenty-two goals.[12] At the end of the season in May 2014 she received the Under-15 Manager's Player award.[13] She was with the under-17 team in the 2014–15 season, playing in fewer matches (fourteen) but managing to score thirty-one goals:[14] among them were threehat-tricks, asuper hat-trick, a match of five goals, and a double hat-trick.[a] She scored once in the third round FA Girls' Youth Cup tie that they lost 2–3.[21]
She made it into the senior squad as a teenager, eligible to play from the end of January 2015.[22] She came on as a substitute in theirWomen's FA Cup third round tie in February, scoring towards the end of the match that they eventually lost 4–5 toPortsmouth.[23] The same weekend, she played for the under-17 Blackburn side in their FA Youth Cup second round tie, scoring twice in a solid team victory.[24]
She also featured in theFA Women's Premier League in 2015, debuting in the league in early March and nearly scoring.[25][26] She opened her account with a brace in a 6–0 win in April;[27] her next two goals came as the team's sole tally in losses[28][29] before she managed another brace and an assist to help the team to a 4–4 draw in the last game of the season.[30] With the first team she scored a total seven goals in six matches.[11]
On 18 July 2015, Stanway completed a move toManchester City. On 29 July, Stanway made her senior debut for Manchester City as a substitute in a 5–0 win overDurham in theContinental Cup.[31] On 27 August, she scored her first goal in a 2–0 victory againstEverton.[32] She ended her maiden campaign with the club's Rising Star award.[33] In 2016, she won the Nissan Goal of the Season award.[34] In January 2017, she signed a new contract with the club.[35]
On 17 November 2019, Stanway scored two goals before being sent off, after receiving two yellow cards, in a 5–0 league win againstWest Ham United.[39] She began the2020–21 season by scoring a brace in a 2–0 away league win againstAston Villa.[40]
In the first Manchester derby of the2021–22 season, Stanway received a straight red card for a high challenge onLeah Galton in the 35th minute, with the score at 0–0. Despite this, Manchester City claimed a 2–2 draw.[41] Stanway went on to win the FA WSL Goal of the Month award for December 2021.[42] On 29 January 2022, Stanway became Manchester City's highest women's goalscorer after scoring a hat trick in an 8–0 win againstNottingham Forest in the fourth round of the2021–22 Women's FA Cup.[43] Injuries in the team for the first half of this season saw Stanway cycle through positions – nominally a forward at the start, she spent time as the first available right-back, in defensive midfield, and at one point was the second-choice goalkeeper.[44][45] While coachGareth Taylor praised her versatility,[45] and Stanway said she would do whatever the team needed, she was frustrated with the situation. After teammates returned in the new year, she was able to play a string of games as a central midfielder and felt she was showing her best form, saying in March 2022 that in future she did not want to be a versatile player.[44]
On 17 May 2022, it was announced that Stanway had signed a three-year deal withFrauen-Bundesliga clubBayern Munich.[46] This was extended on 27 September 2023 for another year, bringing her contract up to 2026.[47]
She made her debut on 16 August 2022 in a 2–1 friendly win overBarcelona. She received her first Bundesligayellow card in her first league match for Bayern Munich; by the end of October 2022,Deutsche Welle noted that Stanway's time in the club had been "characterized more by yellow cards than goals".[48] On 27 October, Stanway scored a brace to be her first goals for Bayern Munich in a 3–2 away win againstBenfica in theChampions League.[49]
Stanway won the Frauen-Bundesliga in both of her first two years abroad at Bayern and firmly established herself as a key player in their starting team. Her consistent form saw her win the 2022-23 Fans' Player of the Season award[50] and also earned her a 2023Ballon d'Or nomination, where she placed 23rd in the final ranking.
She scored six goals in each of her first two campaigns, and in May 2024, the midfielder became the first player to score in four consecutive appearances in the2023-24 Frauen-Bundesliga.[51]
On 30 January 2025, Bayern Munich announced that Stanway had suffered a lateral collateral ligament knee injury, and had undergone a successful operation, stating that she will be out for several months.[52]
Stanway was first called up to train with the under-15 team in June 2012, being regularly invited to camps in 2013[53][54] and 2014.[55] In March 2014 she was named as a forward to a squad for the following month[56] and in May she scored a brace in a 3–0 defeat ofthe Netherlands. She then joined theunder-17 squad for theNordic Cup camp in July 2014.[57] In October and November 2014 she played for the under-17s in2015 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification matches, netting seven goals (including a hat-trick againstRussia) as England's top-scorer to see them through to the final tournament.[58] She was not in the 2015 U-17 Euro squad as the team went out in the group stages,[59] instead playing in the Nordic Cup.[60]
In 2016, Stanway captained the under-17 team to a bronze medal at the2016 Euros, qualifying for the World Cup.[35] In 2018, Stanway played a pivotal role in England's2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup campaign inFrance. Stanway scored six times (same as Golden Boot winnerPatricia Guijarro but beaten only on assists) as England went on to finish third.[61][62]
Stanway scored her first England goal, on her debut, in a 3–0friendly victory againstAustria on 8 November 2018.[63] Stanway scored her second international goal in a 2–1 defeat toNorway in September 2019.[64] On 27 May 2021 it was announced that Stanway had been selected as one of five strikers in theGreat Britain women's Olympic football team for the delayed2020 Olympics.[65]
WhenSarina Wiegman took over the Lionesses, Stanway initially struggled for minutes, attributed to constantly playing out of position for City and not giving the new coach much to go on; she was in better form in her preferred position by theArnold Clark Cup in February 2022 and made the start list for the squad.[44]
In June 2022 Stanway was included in the England squad which won theUEFA Women's Euro 2022,[66][67] scoring the winner with a "22-yard rocket of a shot" in England's 2–1 win over Spain in the quarter-final. Stanway played 89 minutes in the final win over Germany.[68]
Stanway was the 209th player to represent the England women's team, and was given this as her legacy number by the FA to honour the 50th anniversary of the team.[69][70]
On 31 May 2023, Stanway was named to the squad for the2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in July 2023.[71]Stanway scored the only goal of the match via a penalty in the opening World Cup game againstHaiti[72] and helped the Lionesses reach the final of the tournament.
After making her return from her lateral collateral ligament knee injury in the international fixtures prior to the tournament, Stanway was named in England's squad forUEFA Women's Euro 2025 on 6 June 2025.[73][74] on 27 July 2025, Stanway started in thetournament's final, with England defeatingSpain 1-1 (3-1 on penalties).[75][76]
Stanway grew up idolisingAlan Shearer and supportsNewcastle United.[37][77] Already having multiple tattoos, she developed an interest in tattooing after moving to Munich; she tattooed a person live onBBC Sport's "Out of Office" series in 2024.[78] She was in a relationship withToulouse Olympique rugby league footballerOlly Ashall-Bott as of 2022.[79] As of 2025, she is in a relationship with German Olympic surferCamilla Kemp.[80][81]
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