The British Olympic Association (BOA) has confirmed the selection of 18 football players who will represent Team GB at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This is only the second time that Team GB have entered a women’s football team since the introduction of the sport to the Olympic programme in 1996.
Olympic Champion Hege Riise will lead the squad at this summer’s Games. During her illustrious playing career Riise won gold with Norway at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Among the squad are five Olympians who competed for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games: England’s Karen Bardsley, Steph Houghton, Jill Scott and Ellen White and Scotland’s Kim Little.
Thirteen players will make their Olympic debuts in Tokyo. Welsh international Sophie Ingle and Scotland midfielder Caroline Weir are joined by England’s Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, Rachel Daly, Lauren Hemp, Fran Kirby, Nikita Parris, Ellie Roebuck, Georgia Stanway, Demi Stokes, Keira Walsh and Leah Williamson.
Twenty-year-old England and Manchester City forward Lauren Hemp is the youngest player to have been selected having broken into the England senior team in 2020.
Team GB have also named four reserve players who will travel with the team to Tokyo: Sandy MacIver, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Niamh Charles and Ella Toone.
The squad boasts a wealth of exceptional talent. Sophie Ingle, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright were instrumental in helping Chelsea claim the Women’s Super League title and reach the UEFA Champions League final this season. Following a successful season for Chelsea, Fran was awarded Barclays FA Women’s Super League Player of the Year, while Manchester City’s Lucy Bronze was awarded The FIFA Best Women’s Player of the Year.
The squad boasts a wealth of exceptional talent. Sophie Ingle, Fran Kirby and Millie Bright were instrumental in helping Chelsea claim the Women’s Super League title and reach the UEFA Champions League final this season, while Manchester City’s Lucy Bronze was awarded The Best FIFA Women’s Player of the Year.
Team GB fielded a women’s football team for the first time in the London 2012 Olympic Games. The team reached the quarter-finals, with the United States the eventual winners after beating this summer’s hosts Japan 2-1 to win gold for a third consecutive time.
The inclusion of a Great Britain women’s football team for Tokyo could result in there being more female athletes than male representing Team GB at a summer Olympic Games for the first time in history.
Team GB, who have been drawn in Group E, will face Chile in the opening game of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Sapporo on 21 July, followed by hosts Japan on 24 July before travelling to Kashima to take on Canada on 27 July.
Mark England, Team GB Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, commented: “Having an opportunity to field a women’s football team in Tokyo, for only the second time in our Olympic history, is incredibly exciting.
“I am delighted to welcome the players selected today to Team GB for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. It is fantastic to see five returning Olympians named and I am sure they, along with the 13 debutants, will relish the opportunity to represent Team GB this summer.
“Team GB is on the cusp of making history this summer as we are on track to qualify more female than male athletes for the Games for the very first time and I am sure that as we saw at London 2012 the team selected today will help to inspire a new generation of girls and young women wanting to play the sport.”
Hege Riise, Head Coach of Team GB Football for Tokyo, said: “I know first-hand as a former player just how proud my players will feel today at having been selected to represent Great Britain. There is no greater sporting occasion in the world and I am honoured to lead this hugely talented team into the Games. We will go there aiming to win and we will give everything we have to achieve success. I hope that Great Britain’s inclusion once more in the Olympic Football Tournament can inspire the next generation of young girls to play the sport we love.”
Selected Team GB footballers for Tokyo 2020:
Karen Bardsley – Goalkeeper – OL Reign and England
Ellie Roebuck – Goalkeeper – Manchester City and England
Millie Bright – Defender – Chelsea and England
Lucy Bronze – Defender – Manchester City and England
Rachel Daly – Defender – Houston Dash and England
Steph Houghton – Defender – Manchester City and England
Demi Stokes – Defender – Manchester City and England
Leah Williamson – Defender – Arsenal and England
Sophie Ingle – Midfielder – Chelsea and Wales
Kim Little – Midfielder – Arsenal and Scotland
Jill Scott – Midfielder – Manchester City and England
Keira Walsh – Midfielder – Manchester City and England
Caroline Weir – Midfielder – Manchester City and Scotland
Lauren Hemp – Forward – Manchester City and England
Fran Kirby – Forward – Chelsea and England
Nikita Parris – Forward – Olympique Lyonnais and England
Georgia Stanway – Forward – Manchester City and England
Ellen White – Forward – Manchester City and England
Reserve players:
Sandy MacIver – Goalkeeper – Everton and England
Lotte Wubben-Moy – Defender – Arsenal and England
Niamh Charles – Midfielder – Chelsea and England
Ella Toone – Forward – Manchester United and England
Courtesy of Team GB
