Who is Strictly contestant Karen Carney?

Sports presenter and former England midfielder Karen Carney is ready to take to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.

During her playing career, Carney made 144 appearances for England - making her the third most-capped Lioness of all time.

She played her club football for Arsenal, Chelsea and Birmingham City, in addition to a spell overseas at Chicago Red Stars.

Carney, 38, also studied while playing - graduating with a degree in sports and exercise science from Loughborough University in 2008, and a masters in sports psychology from the University of Gloucestershire in 2013.

She was made an MBE in 2017 and an OBE in 2024 for services to association football.

Carney's football career

Carney began her career at Birmingham City, where she made her first-team debut in 2001 at the age of 14.

In 2005, she was named the Football Association's Young Player of the Year and also made the first of her 144 England appearances.

She moved to Arsenal in 2006 and went on to win nine trophies there, including a historic quadruple in the 2006-07 season of Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup, and Uefa Cup.

Carney then spent two seasons playing for Chicago Red Stars in the Women's Professional Soccer League.

After her stint in the US, she rejoined Birmingham City in 2011, and scored the winning penalty in the 2012 FA Women's Cup final.

She also became the first woman to be named in the club's Hall of Fame.

In 2015, Carney moved to Women's Super League side Chelsea, where she won the WSL and Women's Cup in the 2017-18 season.

During a lengthy international career, she played at four World Cups (2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and four European Championships (2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017).

Only Fara Williams and Jill Scott have made more appearances for England.

Carney also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games.

In 2019, she announced she would retire from club and international football after the Women's World Cup third-place play-off against Sweden.

Carney's career after football

Since retiring from football, Carney has pursued a career in the media.

She has worked as a football pundit on TNT, Sky Sports and Amazon Prime coverage of both women's and men's games. She was previously a BBC Sport columnist.

Carney has also joined ITV's coverage of England's women's and men's international tournaments.

She also works supporting the advancement of women in sport, leading a 2022 government review with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport into the future of women's football in the UK.

She will feature in the 2025 edition of Strictly Come Dancing.

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