Fara Williams

General

Image gallery

Fara Williams
Personal information
Full name:	Fara Tanya Franki Williams Merrett
Date of birth:	25 January 1984 (1984-01-25)
Place of birth:	London, England
Height:	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Playing position:	Midfielder
Youth clubs
	Chelsea
Senior clubs
Years	Club	App (Gls)
000?–2001 2001–2004 2004–2012 2012–2015 2016–2017 2017–2021 Total	Chelsea Charlton Athletic Everton Liverpool Arsenal Reading	122 0(70) 035 00(9) 022 00(9) 067 00(9) 246 (106)
National team
2001–2019 2012	England Great Britain	172 0(40) 005 00(0)

Fara Tanya Franki Merrett MBE (born 25 January 1984) is an English former footballer who played as a central midfielder for multiple clubs, as well as the English national team. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was considered one of England's leading players. After making her senior debut in 2001, Williams earned 172 caps for the England Women's Team, making her their highest capped player. She played at the 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017 European Championships, as well as the World Cups in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Williams also featured for Team GB at the 2012 London Olympics.

Williams' club career started with Chelsea then she progressed to Charlton Athletic in 2001. She signed for Everton in 2004 and later became the captain of the club, winning the Premier League Cup in 2008 and the FA Women's Cup in 2010. After eight years with Everton she signed for local rivals Liverpool in 2012 and won the league title in 2013 and 2014. Williams was named The Football Association (FA) Young Player of the Year in 2002, FA Players' Player of the Year in 2009 and FA International Player of the Year in both 2007 and 2009.

Personal life

Williams was homeless for six years during the early part of her football career. She was later employed by FA as a skills coach. She has worked for the Homeless FA charity as a coach at Manchester United's The Cliff, and helping to select the England team for the Homeless World Cup.

Williams was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to women's football and charity.

In December 2015, she married former Everton teammate Amy Kane, but they separated a short time later.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 May 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Reading	2017–18	FA WSL 1	18	7	0	0	6	3	—		—		24	10
	2018–19	WSL	20	11	4	5	5	3	—		—		29	19
	2019–20		14	5	1	2	6	3	—		—		21	10
	2020–21		16	3	1	1	1	0	—		—		18	4
Career total			68	26	6	8	18	9	—		—		92	43

External links

• Fara Williams at the FA website
• Fara Williams on X

Template:England squad (UEFA Women's Euro 2005)

England – 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup – Quarter-finals

1. Brown 2. A. Scott 3. Stoney 4. Chapman 5. White (c) 6. Phillip 7. Carney 8. Williams 9. Aluko 10. K. Smith 11. Yankey 12. Asante 13. Chamberlain 14. Unitt 15. S. Smith 16. J. Scott 17. Handley 18. Sanderson 19. Exley 20. Johnson 21. Telford Manager:   Hope Powell

England – UEFA Women's Euro 2009 – Runners-up

1. Brown 2. A. Scott 3. Stoney 4. Williams 5. Johnson 6. Asante 7. Carney 8. Chapman 9. Aluko 10. K. Smith 11. S. Smith 12. J. Scott 13. Chamberlain 14. White (c) 15. Unitt 16. Handley 17. Sanderson 18. Westwood 19. Bassett 20. Buet 21. Clarke 22. Bardsley Manager:   Hope Powell

England – 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup – Quarter-finals

1. Bardsley 2. A. Scott 3. Unitt 4. J. Scott 5. F. White (c) 6. Stoney 7. Clarke 8. Williams 9. E. White 10. Smith 11. Yankey 12. Carney 13. Brown 14. Aluko 15. Bradley 16. Houghton 17. Bassett 18. Asante 19. Susi 20. Rafferty 21. Chamberlain Manager:   Hope Powell

England – UEFA Women's Euro 2013 – Group stage

1. Bardsley 2. A. Scott 3. Houghton 4. J. Scott 5. Bradley 6. Stoney (c) 7. Aluko 8. Asante 9. White 10. Williams 11. Yankey 12. Clarke 13. Brown 14. Carney 15. Bassett 16. Nobbs 17. Duggan 18. Susi 19. Bonner 20. Moore 21. Bronze 22. Smith 23. Chamberlain Manager:   Hope Powell

England – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup – Third place

1. Bardsley 2. A. Scott 3. Rafferty 4. Williams 5. Houghton (c) 6. Bassett 7. Nobbs 8. J. Scott 9. Aluko 10. Carney 11. Moore 12. Bronze 13. Chamberlain 14. Greenwood 15. Stoney 16. Chapman 17. Potter 18. Duggan 19. Taylor 20. Sanderson 21. Telford 22. Kirby 23. White Manager:   Mark Sampson

England – UEFA Women's Euro 2017 – Semi-finals

1. Bardsley 2. Bronze 3. Stokes 4. J. Scott 5. Houghton (c) 6. Potter 7. Nobbs 8. Christiansen 9. Taylor 10. Williams 11. Moore 12. Stoney 13. Chamberlain 14. Carney 15. Bassett 16. Bright 17. Parris 18. White 19. Duggan 20. Greenwood 21. Telford 22. A. Scott 23. Kirby Manager:   Mark Sampson