Professional sportswoman and pundit Karen Carney follows in the footsteps of many footballers before her as a contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series.
The 38-year-old former England player and ITV’s lead female sports presenter was announced to be taking part in the show this August, describing her booking as “a dream come true”.
She said: “I’m such a huge fan of the show and I can’t believe I’m finally getting the chance to take part. I’m so excited to meet everyone and get dancing!”
Carney has played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and the Lionesses. She is England’s third most-capped player of all time, with 144 caps.
She competed at four World Cups, four European Championships and the 2012 London Olympics before retiring in 2019. She was awarded an MBE in 2017 and OBE in 2024 for services to association football.
Carney, nicknamed “the wizard” for her skilful wing play, grew up in Birmingham and was inducted into Birmingham City’s Hall of Fame in 2015, with an English Football Hall of Fame nod following in 2021.
The footballer said of her upbringing in 2019: “I’m from Birmingham: my mum works at Sainsbury’s, my dad is a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I don’t need a Bentley; I don’t need a Rolex.”
Carney started her football career when she joined Birmingham City Ladies, aged 11. She made her first-team debut for the club in the FA Women’s Premier League National Division three years later.
In both 2005 and 2006, she was awarded the FA National Young Player of the Year Award.
That same year, Carney made her England debut, and went on to win 143 caps and score 32 goals. “To have played for England was my ultimate ambition and to do so at four World Cups and represent Team GB at a home Olympics was beyond the wildest dreams I had when first starting out,” she later reflected on her international career.
Carney joined Arsenal in 2006 and won four major honours that season: the FA Women’s Premier League, the FA Women’s Cup, the FA Women’s Premier League Cup, and the UEFA Women’s Cup.
Three years later, after a new professional league was announced in the States, Carney was selected to play for the Chicago Red Stars on a two-year contract before making a return to Birmingham City in 2011 and moving to Chelsea four years after that.
She was named the club’s player of the year during the 2016 Women’s Super League, with Chelsea winning the WSL for three out of five years she was at the club.
In 2018, after her ninth-minute penalty saw Chelsea win the Women’s Champions League over Fiorentina, Carney was the subject of sexist abuse and death threats by an Instagram user.
Although Carney declined to press charges, the England’s Football Association called for police involvement.
“This kind of abuse is abhorrent, totally unacceptable and very upsetting,” Carney said of the “vile messages” aimed at her and her teammates at the time. She retired following that season.
“I am incredibly proud to have achieved so much in the game,” the player said at the time of the announcement of her exit from club and international football in 2019.
She added: “The thing I'll miss most is singing the [national] anthem, but also kicking a ball. But now is definitely the right time to retire. I don't think I have any more in the tank.
“I've given my heart and soul to club and country, there's nothing more I can physically or mentally give. I have no regrets.”
Since retiring, Carney has become the lead female pundit for both men’s and women’s football across ITV and TNT.
Alongside her on-screen career, Carney writes columns for The Guardian and BBC Sport and co-hosts the Long Story Short podcast alongside her fellow former Lioness, Jill Scott.
