Marissa Callaghan
Northern Irish footballer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marissa James Callaghan MBE (born 2 September 1985) is a Northern Irish football midfielder who plays for Cliftonville Ladies and the Northern Ireland national team
|
Nilla Fischer and Callaghan in May 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 September 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cliftonville | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Newington Girls | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005– | Cliftonville | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010– | Northern Ireland | 72 | (9) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:55, 13 July 2022 (UTC) | |||
Early career
Callaghan started playing football at 13 for the Newington Girls (now known as Cliftonville Ladies).[1] After this, she went to university in the United States on a football scholarship.[2] She returned to Northern Ireland in 2005 and started playing for Cliftonville again. She graduated with an advanced certificate in sports coaching from the University of Ulster in 2017.[2] As a result, she also volunteered as a coach for Cliftonville Ladies.[3] Later she became their academy director.[3]
With Northern Ireland
Callaghan made her international debut for the Northern Ireland women's national under-19 football team in 2002.[4] She made her debut for Northern Ireland in 2010.[4] In 2016, Callaghan was awarded the Northern Ireland Women's Football Association Women's Personality of the Year award.[1] A year later she was the tournament ambassador for the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship being held in Northern Ireland.[1]
Callaghan was part of the squad that was called up to the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.[5] She also captained the Northern Ireland team at Euro 2022.[6]
International goals
- Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | 9 March 2015 | Umag 4, Umag, Croatia |  Croatia | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2015 Istria Cup |
| 5. | 3 June 2016 | Solitude, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Georgia | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying |
| 6. | 3–0 | |||||
| 7. | 13 April 2021 | Seaview, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Ukraine | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying play-offs |
| 8. | 17 September 2021 | Inver Park, Larne, Northern Ireland |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 9. | 21 September 2021 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Latvia | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
Career
After leaving university, Callaghan started working full-time in 2010 as a women's football community coach.[7] In 2016, Callaghan was selected as a women's football ambassador for the Irish Football Association.[8] Following this, she worked with Northern Ireland national football team captain Steven Davis to promote participation in women's youth football.[9]
Personal life
Callaghan was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to Association Football and to the community in Northern Ireland.[10] She is married to her partner Paula and they have one son together.[11]
References
External links
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