![]() Yankey in 2019 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Rachel Aba Yankey[1] | ||
Date of birth | 1 November 1979 | ||
Place of birth | London, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Winger, forward | ||
Youth career | |||
1989–1996 | Mill Hill United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1996–2000 | Arsenal Ladies | 47 | (8) |
2000 | → Laval Dynamites (loan) | 25 | (10) |
2000–2004 | Fulham Ladies | 15 | (6) |
2004–2005 | Birmingham Ladies | 13 | (7) |
2005 | New Jersey Wildcats | 29 | (5) |
2005–2016 | Arsenal Ladies | 151 | (43) |
2016 | → Notts County Ladies (loan) | 5 | (0) |
Total | 285 | (79) | |
International career | |||
1997–2013 | England[3] | 129 | (19) |
2012 | Great Britain | 5 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
2019 | London Bees | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Rachel Aba Yankey OBE (born 1 November 1979) is a former English footballer who played as a winger or forward.
Yankey is best known for her long association with Arsenal Ladies, for whom she played 15 seasons over two separate spells, and is ranked among the Arsenal Ladies Legends. She is one of the most decorated players in women's football, winning the FA Women's National Premier League seven times, the FA WSL twice, the FA Women's Cup eleven times, the FA Women's Premier League Cup six times and the UEFA Women's Cup once, while playing for Arsenal and Fulham Ladies.
Since making her debut in 1997, Yankey appeared on 129 occasions for the England national team and at the time became the most capped player ever to play for England, ahead of male goalkeeper Peter Shilton with 125 (though this record has since been beaten by several female players). 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 had a brief foray into coaching, managing the London Bees from February to May 2019.