Rachel Yankey
Rachel Yankey at The London 2012 Summer Olympic Games
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rachel Aba Yankey | ||
| Date of birth | 1 November 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||
| Playing position | Winger, Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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England | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989– | Mill Hill United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–2000 | Arsenal Ladies | ||
| 2000 | → Laval Dynamites (loan) | ||
| 2000–2004 | Fulham Ladies | ||
| 2004–2005 | Birmingham Ladies | (6) | |
| 2005 | New Jersey Wildcats | ||
| 2005–2016 | Arsenal Ladies | ||
| 2016–2016 | → Notts County Ladies | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997– | England | 129 | (19) |
| 2012 | Great Britain | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 May 2007. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:00, 15 July 2013 (UTC) |
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Rachel Aba Yankey, OBE (born 1 November 1979) is an English footballer who plays for the England national team. She plays as a left winger or forward, and wears the number 11 for England. She is of Ghanaian descent, from her father's side. She left Arsenal after 13 years in December 2016 at the end of her contract. She is ranked among the Arsenal Ladies Legends.
Since making her debut in 1997, Yankey has appeared on 129 occasions for England and became the most capped player ever to play for England, ahead of male goalkeeper Peter Shilton with 125. She was the second English female player, after Gillian Coultard, to make a century of international appearances. Yankey was part of the Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics.
Yankey began playing football as the only girl in a boys' team. Aged eight she shaved her hair off, pretending to be a boy called 'Ray' (an acronym of her birth names). She was able to play in the boys' team for two years before her real identity was discovered.
Yankey joined Mill Hill United at youth level after the club's manager, Russell Mountford, attended an annual general meeting (AGM) at Yankey's boys' club. She also represented Brent in the London Youth Games as a youngster, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2011.
Yankey's senior playing career began at the age of 16, playing for Arsenal, when she spent a short time on loan with Laval Dynamites, a Canadian team, and then moved to Fulham in 2000.
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