Brenda Sempare

Brenda Sempare (born 9 November 1961)^[1] is an English former international women's footballer. She played in all four games of England's 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup appearance.^[1]

Brenda Sempare

Personal information
Date of birth	(1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth	England
Position(s)	Midfield
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Friends of Fulham
	Croydon Ladies
International career
	England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Sempare helped Friends of Fulham win the 1985 FA Women's Cup. In November 2001 Hope Powell wrote in The Times that Sempare's performance in 1985's 2–0 final win over Doncaster Belles at Craven Cottage was "the best all-round performance I have ever seen."^[2]

In April 1996, Sempare was one of Croydon Ladies' penalty scorers as Croydon beat Liverpool Ladies on penalties in the FA Women's Cup final at The New Den.^[3] The following month goals from Sempare and Kerry Davis earned a 2–1 league win over Arsenal Ladies, which sealed a domestic double for Croydon.

Sempare retired at the end of that 1995–96 season, but returned to action during 1996–97. On 23 September 2010, she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.^[4]

International career

While working as a postwoman Sempare helped England reach the semi-final of the 1987 European Competition for Women's Football, where they lost 3–2 to Sweden after extra time. She had also featured in the 1984 tournament,^[5] where England reached the final.

Sempare also played for England at the 1995 World Cup.^[1]

She was allotted 62 when the FA announced their legacy numbers scheme to honour the 50th anniversary of England’s inaugural international.^[6][7]

References

1. "England:Brenda Sempare". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
2. "Placed in history". The Times. 10 November 2001.
3. "English clubs 95-96". Women's Soccer World. Archived from the original on 14 February 1997. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
4. "Sempare inducted into Hall of Fame". TheFA.com. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
5. "Danmark – England 0 – 1". DBU.dk. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
6. "England squad named for World Cup". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
7. Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.