_(cropped).jpg) Bassett in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laura Bassett[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1983-08-02)2 August 1983 (age 41)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nuneaton, England[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Bedworth Girls | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Coventry City Ladies | ||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2008 | Birmingham City Ladies | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | →New York Magic (loan) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Arsenal Ladies | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Leeds United Ladies | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | Birmingham City Ladies | 39 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Chelsea Ladies | 13 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Notts County | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Canberra United | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2017 | England | 63 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 February 2018[3][4] | |||||||||||||||||
Laura Bassett (born 2 August 1983) is an English formerfootballdefender who representedEngland internationally. She played forFA WSL clubNotts County,Birmingham City (two separate spells),Arsenal,Leeds Carnegie,Chelsea, andAustralian W-League clubCanberra United.
Bassett acquired over 60caps for the national team between 2003 and 2017, being part of the squad atUEFA Women's Euro 2009, the2011 FIFA Women's World Cup,UEFA Women's Euro 2013, the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup andUEFA Women's Euro 2017.
Bassett grew up inBulkington and joined Bedworth girls as a nine-year-old. At 14 she joined Coventry City and played in theFA Women's Premier League Northern Division while still a pupil atNorth Warwickshire and Hinckley College.[5] She then moved to Birmingham City and becamecaptain,[6] while on a scholarship at theFA Player Development Centre atLoughborough University. She spent summer 2006 playing in theW-League withNew York Magic.[7]
Bassett left Birmingham for Arsenal in 2008.[8] She signed for Leeds Carnegie in October 2009[9] and helped the Yorkshire club win thePremier League Cup in February 2010.[10]
After Leeds' funding andFA WSL bid collapsed, Bassett spent a period without a club.[11] In October 2010 it was revealed that she had re-signed for Birmingham City.[12] In April 2012 Bassett was appointed as one of eight digital media ambassadors, one from each team, who wear theirTwitter account name on their shirt sleeves to raise the profile of the WSL.[13] At the end of the 2013 season, clubcaptain Bassett rejected Birmingham's offer of a new contract and joinedChelsea.[14]
With Bassett Chelsea finished as runners-up in the2014 FA WSL, but she signed a three-year contract withNotts County ahead of the2015 campaign.[15]
Following Notts County's folding in April 2017,[16] Bassett became a free agent. She joined Australian clubCanberra United for the 2017–18 Australian W-League season.[17]
Bassett sat out the 2018–19 season to give birth to her daughter Saede. On 3 June 2019 she announced her retirement.[18][19]
Bassett was part of the BBC's commentary team for the2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[20]
Bassett represented England at youth level,[5][7] including at the2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. When she made her senior debut againstItaly in February 2003,[21] she became the first Birmingham City Ladies player to play for England at full international level.[22]
In May 2009, Bassett was one of the first 17 female players to be given central contracts byThe Football Association.[23] She made herFIFA Women's World Cup debut in July 2011, replacingEllen White for the final minute of England's 2–0 group B win overJapan.[24]
Bassett scored a last-minute equaliser in England's openingUEFA Women's Euro 2013 match againstSpain, butKaren Bardsley'sinjury time own goal gave the Spanish a 3–2 win.[25]
Under new coachMark Sampson, Bassett started England's first game at the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 1–0 defeat byFrance. She sustained ablack eye after being elbowed in the face byCamille Abily, but the French player controversially escaped any punishment.[26] During added time in the semi-final match againstJapan, Bassettlobbed the ball into England's goal while trying to clear it to prevent Japan from taking an open shot, resulting in a 2–1 defeat.[27]
She captained England for theirUEFA Women's Euro 2017 first phase match againstPortugal,[28] her last appearance for England.
She was allotted 146 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.[29][30]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 July 2013 | Arena Linköping,Linköping,Sweden |  Spain | 2–2 | 2–3 | Euro 2013 |
| 2. | 21 August 2014 | Cardiff City Stadium,Cardiff |  Wales | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2015 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Bassett is in a long-term relationship withManchester United Women managerMarc Skinner, having met while both coaching for Birmingham's U-14s team.[31] Their daughter, Saede, was born in December 2018.[32] Their second child was born in March 2024.[33]
Birmingham City
England
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England squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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