Bethany England (born 3 June 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Crystal Palace.
She previously played for Doncaster Rovers Belles, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur, and represented England on the U19 and U23 national teams. She has earned 26 appearances for the England national team.
In 2020, England was named the league's Player of the Year and PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year after leading Chelsea to win the 2019–20 FA WSL and 2019–20 FA League Cup. She was also named to the PFA Team of the Year.
Early life England was born and raised with her two sisters in Barnsley, a large market and college town in South Yorkshire, between Leeds and Sheffield. She began playing with a boys' team around age six and played with the team for 3–4 years. A plaque honouring England, as part of the "Where Greatness Is Made" campaign, was installed at Junior Tykes F.C. in Barnsley in 2022. She was later scouted to join the Sheffield United girls' centre of excellence. After three years with the Sheffield United girls' team, England began playing for the Sheffield United academy at age 13 where she played for three years along with her twin sister, Laura. At 16, England joined Doncaster Belles and broke onto the first team within her first year.
England attended Barnsley Sixth Form College. At Barnsley College, her former football coaches remember her scoring the best goal many of them had ever seen at the Whitsuntide Tournament in Spain. Mark Ryan, manager of the college's sport academy, noted, "The goalkeeper kicked the ball from the edge of the box. As the ball travelled towards the halfway line, Beth stood wide right. She watched the ball come over her left shoulder and she hit it, first time, from just inside the opposition half. Lobbed the goalkeeper. There were 28 boys on the sideline, and their reaction... It went from stunned silence to absolute uproar.”
England studied law part-time through a partnership with BPP University and the Doncaster Belles organization with the goal of pursuing family law. As a youth, she admired footballers Steven Gerrard and Rachel Yankey.
Club career Doncaster Rovers Belles 2011–2015
At the age of 17, England established herself in Doncaster Rovers Belles' first team during the second half of the 2011 FA WSL season. She made her debut for the first team on 23 July 2011 and made four appearances during the regular season. Doncaster finished in seventh place with a record. In October 2011, she went on a short-term loan to Sheffield Wednesday.
During the 2012 FA WSL season, England scored two goals in her eight appearances. She scored her first goal during a 3–2 loss to Bristol City. Her second goal came during a 2–0 win over Liverpool. Doncaster finished in seventh place with a record. Returning to Doncaster England made nine appearances during the 2012 FA WSL season. The team finished in last place and was relegated to the second division, FA WSL 2, for the 2014 season.
During the 2015 FA WSL season, England's 14 goals helped the club finish second during the regular season with a and gain promotion to FA WSL 1. She scored a brace against Oxford United. Over her five seasons with Doncaster, England became a regular starter and made close to 100 appearances for the club. Though offered a full-time deal by the Belles, England opted to join Chelsea the following season.
Chelsea 2016–17 season
In January 2016, it was announced that England had signed with reigning FA WSL 1 champions Chelsea for the 2016 season. She scored 5 times in her 19 appearances, including seven starts, playing as a wing-back. Chelsea finished second during the regular season with a record.
In April 2017, England signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea. A few months later she was loaned to Liverpool for the season where she strengthened her goal-scoring skills with 10 goals in 16 matches.
2017–18 season: Loan to Liverpool On 14 September 2017, England moved on loan to Liverpool for the 2017–18 FA WSL season. On 12 October 2017, she scored her first goal for the Reds in a 6–0 victory against Sheffield F.C. in the Continental Cup. In February 2018, she scored another goal in Liverpool's 3–1 win against Sunderland. England's 10 goals ranked third on the team for the season. Liverpool finished sixth during the regular season with a record.
2018–2023: Return to Chelsea and breakthrough She returned to Chelsea for the 2018–19 FA WSL season. Her 12 goals in 18 matches ranked third in the league and first on Chelsea's squad. Chelsea finished third during the regular season with a record.
During the 2019–20 FA WSL season, England scored 14 goals in 15 games. Named Player of the Month for January and February, she was the country's top scorer in all competitions across the top two divisions, and the Super League's second-highest goalscorer. Her brace during the Continental Cup Final secured Chelsea's win. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes called her the best English No 9 in the country. England scored 21 goals in all competitions for the Women's Super League and Continental Cup and was named the league's Player of the Season.
In July 2020, England signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea. Chelsea's general manager Paul Green noted, "We're delighted to have extended Beth's contract, as she has been outstanding in the last 18 months, playing a big part in the team's success. We feel that she is now coming in to her peak as a player and look forward to seeing how she continues to develop for both club and country in the upcoming years." In August, she helped Chelsea win the 2020 FA Community Shield after a 2–0 win over Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur On 4 January 2023, it was announced that England had signed for Tottenham Hotspur until June 2026. Her transfer fee was reported to be £250,000, breaking the record for a domestic women's football transfer. On 15 September 2023, it was announced that England would become the team captain.
England had hip surgery in September 2023. It is unclear when she sustained the injury but the surgery recovery meant she missed the beginning of the 2023–24 Super League season.
On 14 January 2024, England scored twice within 11 minutes (her first goals since her injury) to help Tottenham fight back after going 2–0 down to Sheffield United in the FA Cup Fourth Round. Tottenham came away 3–2 victors in that game. Later that season, in the FA Cup Quarter-Final, England scored a 96th minute equaliser against Manchester City. A 1–1 draw saw the game go to penalties: England took the first penalty for her team, converting it, to help Tottenham to an eventual 1–1 (4–3) win. Her first goal of the 2023–24 league came in the second minute of the 1–0 away victory against Bristol City.
On 30 April 2026, it was announced that England would depart Tottenham upon the expiry of her contract in the summer of 2026.
Crystal Palace
On 15 July 2026, England was announced at Crystal Palace.
International career
Youth England has represented her country on the under-19, under-23, and senior national teams. In 2012, she competed with the under-19 national team at the UEFA Under-19 Championship in Turkey. She scored two goals in five appearances. The team finished third in their group, but did not advance to the Final Stages.
Senior In August 2019, England earned her first senior England call up for friendlies against Belgium and Norway. In October 2019, she scored her first goal as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Brazil. She scored the game-opening goal in a 3–2 win over Czech Republic an assist from Nikita Parris a month later. In February 2020, she was named to the England squad for the SheBelieves Cup in the United States. England manager Phil Neville said of the call-up, "She's playing in a team full of confidence and every time I see her play, she's added a little bit to the game. Without doubt she, along with Ellen White, are the best two centre-forwards in England on form and she deserves her place in the squad." England made two appearances during the tournament and the team finished third. She sustained an ankle injury during training that prevented her from playing in the team's final match. In June 2022 she was included in the England squad which won the UEFA Euro 2022.England Squad . UEFA. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
On 31 May 2023, England was named to the squad for the 2023 FIFA World Cup in July 2023. She was brought on as a substitute in the Lionesses' 1–0 loss against Spain in the tournament's final. England has been awarded Legacy number 213 by The Football Association.
Personal life On 7 June 2025, England married Welsh footballer Stephanie Williams.
Statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDoncaster Rover Belles2011Women's Super League4010———502012Women's Super League8230———1122013Women's Super League9031———1212014Women's Super League 218852———23102015Women's Super League 2181351———2314Total5723174———7427Chelsea2016Women's Super League13312———1452017Women's Super League60————602018–19Women's Super League181277—70—32192019–20Women's Super League15142087——25212020–21Women's Super League1965142631035122021–22Women's Super League208332051—30122022–23Women's Super League82——20—102Total994518131492041015271Liverpool (loan) 2017–18Women's Super League161031———1911Tottenham Hotspur2022–23Women's Super League12121110——14132023–24Women's Super League1455320——2182024–25Women's Super League1980040——2382025–26Women's Super League2173240——289Total66329611000008638Career total238110472425920410331147
International Statistics accurate as of match played 20 August 2023.
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsEngland201952202020202186202263202350Total2611
As of match played 6 September 2022. England team score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bethany England goal. + International goals by date, venue, opponent, score, result and competitionNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 5 October 2019 Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, England 1–2 1–2 Friendly 2 12 November 2019 Stadion Střelecký ostrov, České Budějovice, Czech Republic 1–1 3–2 3 17 September 2021 St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England 5–0 8–0 2023 FIFA World Cup qualification 4 7–0 5 21 September 2021 Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 10–0 10–0 623 October 2021Wembley, London, England2–04–0730 November 2021Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, England12–020–0819–09 30 June 2022 Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland 3–0 4–0 Friendly 106 September 2022Bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, England6–010–02023 FIFA World Cup qualification1110–0
Honours
Chelsea FA Women's Super League: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 FA WSL Spring Series: 2017 Women's FA Cup: 2017–18, 2021–22 FA Women's League Cup: 2019–20,2020–21 FA Women's Community Shield: 2020
Tottenham Hotspur Women's FA Cup runner-up: 2023–24
England
FIFA Women's World Cup runner-up: 2023 UEFA Women's Championship: 2022
Individual FA WSL Player of the Year: 2020 PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2019–20 PFA's WSL Team of the Year: 2020 FA WSL Player of the Month: January 2020, February 2020 Freedom of the City of London (announced 1 August 2022)
See also List of England women's international footballers List of FA WSL hat-tricks
References
External links
Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website Profile at the Football Association website