Karen Julia Carney (born 1 August 1987) is an English sports journalist and former professional footballer who played as a winger and midfielder. Carney has been a regular broadcaster for live football on TNT Sports, Sky Sports, ITV and Amazon Prime, including Women's Super League and men's Premier League matches since 2019. She is also a sports columnist for BBC Sport and The Guardian, and a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Television.
Carney began her career at Birmingham City and was twice named FA Young Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006. After signing with Arsenal, she experienced great success in 2006–07 winning the UEFA Women's Cup and all three domestic trophies: the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup, and the FA Women's Premier League Cup. Following two seasons with Chicago Red Stars in the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), Carney re-joined Birmingham City from 2011 to 2015. Carney finished her career with Chelsea where she was named Player of the Year in 2016 and captained the club to an FA Women's Cup title in 2017–18. She retired in July 2019.
Carney made her senior international debut for England in 2005. She represented England at four FIFA Women's World Cups (2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and at four UEFA Women's Championships (2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017). At the time of her retirement, she was the second most capped England player with 144 appearances, although this has since been surpassed by Jill Scott. She also represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In 2015, Carney was inducted into Birmingham City's Hall of Fame, and 2021, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. In 2017, she was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to association football. In 2025, she won the twenty-third series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Carney joined Birmingham City Ladies at the age of 11 and played at various age levels for the club alongside the likes of Eniola Aluko and Laura Bassett. She made her first-team debut for Birmingham City in the FA Women's Premier League National Division against Fulham Ladies at the age of 14. She earned FA National Young Player of the Year honours in 2005 and 2006.
Carney joined Arsenal Ladies on 13 July 2006, and played a major part in the team that won four major honours in the 2006/07 season: the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup, FA Women's Premier League Cup, and the UEFA Women's Cup. She made 21 appearances in the Premier League in her first season and scored 10 goals. In all competitions, she made 36 appearances and scored 13 goals. The following season saw Carney take on a greater role at Arsenal. She made 20 Premier League appearances and scored 10 goals. In all competitions, she made 34 appearances and scored 17 goals. 2008–09 marked Carney's final season with Arsenal. She made 13 Premier League appearances and scored eight goals. In all competitions, she made 21 appearances and scored 12 goals.
After a new professional league was announced in the United States, Carney was selected by Chicago Red Stars in the third round (19th overall) of the 2008 WPS International Draft. The Red Stars made Carney their first signing on 27 January 2009. It was confirmed the following day by Arsenal. She joined Head Coach Emma Hayes, who had served as Arsenal's first team assistant coach.
In the inaugural 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, Carney appeared in and started 17 games (1471 minutes) and scored two goals while assisting on another. She scored her first goal for the club during a 4–0 win against the Boston Breakers. The Red Stars finished in sixth place with a 5–10–5 record.
During the 2010 season, Carney competed in 21 matches. She scored the game-winning goal against Sky Blue FC on 2 August lifting Chicago to a 2–1 win on her birthday. The Red Stars finished the regular season in sixth place with a 7–11–6 record.
Return to Birmingham City, 2011–15
After Chicago Red Stars folded ahead of the 2011 season, Carney re-signed for Birmingham City. During the 2011 FA WSL, she started in all 13 matches and scored 3 goals helping lift the club to a second-place finish. During a 4–0 win against Bristol City, Carney scored a brace. She scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win against Arsenal on 28 April.
During the 2012 season, Carney started in all 14 matches and scored 3 goals. Birmingham City finished in second place with a 7–2–5 record. She scored the winning goal and was Player of the Match in the 2012 FA Women's Cup Final. Due to national team obligations, Carney competed in six matches for Birmingham City during the 2013 season. The club finished in fourth place with a 5–6–3 record.
Carney was a starting player during the 2014 season in all 14 matches. Her 6 goals ranked her first on the team and tied
for top in the league. During a match against Manchester City on October 5, her brace led Birmingham City to a 2–1 win. In October 2014 Carney was fined and received a one-match suspension for an incident in July when she told opposition player Natalia Pablos to "fuck off back to Spain". In the last game of the 2014 FA WSL season, she missed a penalty in Birmingham City's 2–2 draw with Notts County that might have led to a league title. Birmingham City finished in third place during the regular season with a 7–3–4 record.
Carney was the first woman inducted into Birmingham City's Hall of Fame in March 2015. She scored two penalties in Birmingham's 3–0 win at relegation-bound Bristol Academy in September 2015, to help secure the club's WSL 1 status. Despite national team duty at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, Carney finished the 2015 season with three goals in 11 matches. Birmingham City finished in sixth place with a 4–7–7 record.
In December 2015, Carney left Birmingham for the second time in her career, transferring to FA WSL champions Chelsea on a two-year contract. She was described as "world-class" by Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who previously worked with Carney at Arsenal and Chicago Red Stars.
During the 2016 FA WSL, Carney scored 3 goals in 16 matches. Chelsea finished in second place with a 12–3–1 record. She scored the game-opening goal in the club's 4–1 win against Doncaster on 24 March off a penalty. After the match, Hayes noted, "Karen Carney was at the heart and the core of everything, especially in the first half, and she looks like she's been playing at Chelsea for years. I thought she was instrumental in everything we did, whether she was on the left side, down the middle, or on the right." She scored Chelsea's second goal in the 4th minute of a 4–0 against her former club, Birmingham City on 28 August, in her hometown of Solihull. She was named the club's Player of the Year and was short-listed for England Women's Player of the Year.
After extending her contract with Chelsea through 2020, Carney's four goals in the seven matches she competed in during the 2017 FA WSL ranked third in the league. Chelsea finished in first place during the regular season with a 6–1–1 record. During the 2017–18 FA WSL season, she scored three goals in eight matches, including a brace against Yeovil on 29 October. Chelsea won the league title as well as the 2017–18 FA Women's Cup.