As 2023 comes to a close, we’re delighted to announce Danielle Carter, current London City Lionesses striker and former England international, as Ambassador of our London activities!
In this capacity, Danielle will serve as role model for all of our participants including girls and young women from inner city communities, where improved access to football is urgently needed.
Danielle has long been an advocate for the wider women’s game and for the need for more opportunities to be made available to the next generation of players, particularly inner city girls and young women. Working with global movement, Common Goal, Danielle identified Girls United as the perfect organisation to support in doing just that and continuing to give back to the London community.
Growing up in East London, Danielle began her footballing journey at the Leyton Orient centre of excellence where her talent earned her a call up to the England U17s squad aged only 14, marking her debut with a hattrick, a feat she would replicate seven years later with another hattrick against Estonia on her full England debut in 2015.
In 2009, whilst still in sixth form in Romford, Danielle realised a childhood dream by joining Arsenal Women. From there her career went from strength to strength, helping the North London Club to secure the inaugural Women’s Super League title in 2010/11, scoring in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and in a 1-0 FA Cup Final win over Chelsea in 2016.
After recovering from two serious ACL injuries, Danielle joined Reading in 2020 and became the first player that Brighton ever paid a fee for when she joined the Seagulls the following year. In 2023, Danielle returned to the capital joining London City Lionesses who compete in the Women’s Championship and who on Sunday came back from 3-0 down away to London rivals Watford to draw 3-3.
Last week we welcomed Danielle to a U16 training session at Alleyn’s school in South London, where she spent time with our players and answered questions that they had about her journey, her Arsenal days and playing for England.
During this visit Danielle also took part in a short interview with Romina in which she said: “I’m happy to be an ambassador for Girls United and can’t wait to support the great work you have been doing in empowering young women both in London and Mexico.
“Shining light on the work organisations like Girls United do is something I’m passionate about, as I hope we can collectively provide a platform and forum for inner city communities to participate and thrive in the game we love!”
Also present at the U16s session, our Founder & CEO, Romina Calatayud, added: “Danielle is the perfect role model for our players across each of our London programmes. Having enjoyed an incredible career so far, but more importantly having grown up in London herself, Danielle knows all too well the kind of barriers that can stand between a player and regular opportunities to play.
“We’re very excited to work with Danielle and be the bridge between the top of the women’s game and our grassroots programmes. With so much of our work being focused on improving access and representation, particularly for participants from inner city communities, having the support of such a strong leader in Danielle will make such a big difference.”
This announcement comes as one of the final highlights of the Girls United Advent Calendar 2023, the first of its kind and an opportunity for us to look back at some of the key moments of the journey so far.
With over 1,000 participants engaged in South London over the course of the last 12 months, we have measured a sharp increase in participation levels following the incredible Lioness success at the European Championships in 2022 and more recently at the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Working closely with Danielle and Common Goal, we are committed to levelling the playing field and pushing for increased access to football for girls and young women, in schools, local communities and performance pathways.
For more information about Danielle’s involvement or the wider Ambassador programme, please contact Josh@girlsunitedfa.org
