Who is Karen Carney and what position will the England pundit and former Lioness play in Soccer Aid 2024?

FORMER Lioness Karen Carney is putting her football boots back on to take part in a huge charity match.

Find out more about her career ahead of her taking part in Soccer Aid 2024 alongside a host of former pro-footballers and celebs.

Getty Images

Who is Karen Carney?

Karen was born on August 1, 1987, to parents Michael and Marie in Solihull, England.

She is a sports journalist and former professional footballer.

Karen can remember playing football at the age of six but it wasn’t until she was 11 that her mum saw her play for the first time.

By the time she was 14, she was playing football full time.

At the age of 16, she decided to move in order to focus on the beautiful game.

After her retirement, Karen has worked as TV pundit on both ITV and Sky Sports.

In 2017 Karen was awarded the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to football in the New Year Honours List.

She was later inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2021.

In the autumn of 2022, Karen was announced as the Chair of the Future of Women’s Football Review for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Her role includes looking into ways that the UK Government can nurture and expand the game.

When did Karen Carney retire from women’s football?

Karen is one of England‘s most capped players of all time and achieved success playing for three different clubs.

She retired in 2019 after England finished fourth during the Women’s World Cup.

Over her career, Karen has earned 144 caps for England and scored 32 times.

She debuted at senior level when she was 14.

In 2005, she won the FA’s Young Player of the Year Award a year before she turned 18.

The same year, she made her senior debut for England at 17 when they played against Italy.

Getty Images

Only four months later, she secured victory for England against Finland during the opening game for the European Championships.

In 2006, Karen was signed to Arsenal.

She enjoyed huge success at the club including a historic quadruple in 2007.

The team scooped the the three English women’s competitions – Premier League, FA Cup and Premier League Cup – as well as the Uefa Women’s Cup.

She later transferred to the Chicago Red Stars in the US before signing for Birmingham City in 2011.

At Wembley that season, Carney put in a “woman of the match” performance against Chelsea that saw her score the winning spot-kick to secure Birmingham‘s first FA Women’s Cup triumph.

She also represented Team GB at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Karen transferred to Chelsea in 2015 after topping the league’s scoring charts in 2014.

She won more honours with Chelsea including a Spring Series, league title and FA Cup.

Karen retired in July 2019, telling the .

After retiring, Karen pursued a career in broadcasting.

What position will Karen Carney play in Soccer Aid 2024?

Karen will be joining a host of famous names taking part in Soccer Aid 2024.

She’ll be joining the England side, hoping to turn around the side’s fortunes after a disappointing run of results.

The World XI side has won the last five years.

Throughout her professional football career, Karen played as a winger and a midfielder.

So excited for this one! Soccer Aid for UNICEF is back at Stamford Bridge and so am I! It’s on Sunday 9 June – get your tickets today!

Karen Carneyon Instagram

She’s expected to return to the midfield for the 2024 charity clash, in a return to Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of the charity match, Karen posted online: “So excited for this one!

“Soccer Aid for UNICEF is back at Stamford Bridge and so am I!

“It’s on Sunday 9 June – get your tickets today!

How to watch Soccer Aid 2024

Hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alex Scott will be introducing the 2024 match live on ITV1, ITVX and STV.

It takes place on Sunday, June 9th 2024.

The build-up to the game starts at 6pm, with the kick-off expected at 7.30pm.