Global InformationBeth Mead information
 Mead with England in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Bethany Jane Mead[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 9 May 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Whitby, England[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | Middlesbrough | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Sunderland | 82 | (66) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017– | Arsenal | 122 | (45) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | England U15 | 2 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | England U17 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | England U19 | 15 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | England U20 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | England U23 | 5 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018– | England | 55 | (32) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 April 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 April 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bethany Jane Mead MBE (born 9 May 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Women's Super League (WSL) club Arsenal and the England national team. A creative and prolific forward, she has all-time most assists and all-time second-most goal contributions in the WSL. Joint with Vivianne Miedema, she is the first player to reach a combined total of 100 goals and assists in the WSL. At UEFA Women's Euro 2022, she became the Golden Boot winner, Player of the Tournament, and top assist provider, leading England to win a major tournament for the first time. Later that year, she was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first women's footballer to win the prestigious award;[3] and finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and UEFA Player of the Year.
In 2015, Mead won the WSL Golden Boot and the WSL Player of the Year award,[4] becoming the youngest WSL Golden Boot winner at the age of 20. It was only a season after leading her then-club Sunderland's promotion and WSL 2 title win. Having scored 77 goals in 78 games,[5] she is regarded as one of the greatest players to have ever played for Sunderland.[6][7][8]
Converted to a winger at Arsenal, Mead holds numerous WSL records[broken anchor] in playmaking, including all-time most assists, most assists in a season, most chances created in a season, and most chances created from open play in a season. She was the WSL top assist provider in the 2018–19 and 2021–22 seasons. In the 2021–22 season, she was nominated for WSL Player of the Season. She won the 2018–19 WSL title with Arsenal.
Mead helped England reach the semi-final at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, providing second-most assists in the tournament. In 2022, she broke Jimmy Greaves' 61-year-old record of the most goals scored in a season by an England player of either gender and was named BBC Women's Footballer of the Year and World Soccer World Player of the Year. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for her services to football.
Mead and her alma mater Teesside University launched the Beth Mead Scholarship in February 2022. Her Sunday Times bestseller[9] autobiography, Lioness: My Journey to Glory, was published in November 2022.
- ^ a b "List of Players – England" (PDF). FIFA. 4 August 2014. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ^ "Women's World Cup 2019: Mapping England's Lionesses squad". BBC Sport. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
- ^ Falk, Graham (20 December 2022). "Sports personality nominees 2022: Latest odds for BBC Spoty, who is favourite, Beth Mead, Jake Wightman odds". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Lucy Bronze capped a fantastic 2015 by being named Vauxhall England Player of the Year at this year's FA Women's Football Awards". thefa.com. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ "England Women's player profile: Beth Mead". The Football Association. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Happy International Women's Day! Who are the greatest ever Sunderland Ladies players?". Roker Report. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ @SAFCWomen (30 December 2019). "🏆 With a huge majority in today's poll, @bmeado9 is named as SAFC Ladies' forward of the decade! She claims her spot in the Team of the Decade! Congratulations, Beth! #SAFCLadies #HawayTheLasses #OneClubOurClub" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @SAFCWomen (31 December 2019). "🔝 After eight votes, involving 28 players, here's your final Team of the Decade for the 2010s! #SAFCLadies #HawayTheLasses #OneClubOurClub" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ LIONESS: MY JOURNEY TO GLORY by Beth Mead. Hachette UK. 24 August 2022. ISBN 9781399611671. Retrieved 21 November 2022.