Former Chelsea and Birmingham winger Karen Carney MBE is the first 2022 inductee into the Barclays Women’s Super League Hall of Fame.

The 35-year-old is the fifth WSL legend to join the Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of former England teammates Kelly Smith, Fara Williams and Rachel Yankey, as well as Emma Hayes, her former manager at Chelsea.

Carney began her senior career at Birmingham at the age of just 14 and was later part of the Arsenal side that won an unprecedented quadruple in 2007. Following a spell in the United States with Chicago Red Stars, she returned to Birmingham for the start of the WSL era in 2011.

The Blues challenged for the WSL title in 2014 and Carney was the first woman to be inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2015. She was later described as a ‘world class’ acquisition by manager Hayes when she joined Chelsea a few months after helping England finish third at the 2015 World Cup.

With Chelsea, Carney won the WSL Spring Series in 2017, as well as the title in 2017/18 as part of a domestic double alongside that season’s FA Cup.

The WSL Hall of Fame was launched in 2021 as part of the league’s 10-year anniversary celebrations.

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