Samantha Britton

Samantha Britton (born 8 December 1973) is an English retired footballer, and former England international player. An extremely versatile performer, Britton was equally at home playing in defence, midfield or attack.^[2]

Sammy Britton

Personal information
Full name	Samantha Britton
Date of birth	(1973-12-08) 8 December 1973 (age 50)[1]
Place of birth	Huddersfield, England
Position(s)	Defender / Midfielder/ Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Huddersfield Town
	Bronte
	Arsenal Ladies
	Cove Rangers
	Croydon
	Doncaster Belles
	Everton Ladies
2000	IBV	14	(12)
2001–2003	Leeds United Ladies
2003–2005	Everton Ladies
International career
	England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Britton played for England in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[3]

She dropped out of the side after the finals, but scored on her return two years later as England beat Scotland 4–0.^[4] At the time she was playing for Cove Rangers in Scotland, but was looking for a move back to the English Premier League. She had previously played for Arsenal.

Britton got her wish as she joined Croydon for 1997–98, featuring in the 3–2 FA Women's Cup final defeat to Arsenal.^[5] She moved to Doncaster Belles the following season. In summer 2000 Britton played for IBV in Iceland, finishing as the club's top goalscorer with 12 goals in 14 games.^[6]

During qualifying for Euro 2001, Britton pre-empted the results of a random drugs test by admitting to smoking marijuana. She was subsequently banned for seven months by England coach Hope Powell and missed six Everton matches while attending a voluntary rehabilitation programme.^[7][8] Britton was recalled to the England squad for the European Championship finals.^[1]

In March 2005 she was playing for Everton,^[9] having re-joined from Leeds United in January 2003.^[10]

International career

In November 2022, Britton was recognized by The Football Association as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 88th women's player to be capped by England.^[11][12]

Personal life

Britton is of Jamaican descent through her father.^[13]

References

1. "European Women Championship 2001 - Final Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
2. "England Women's player profiles". BBC Sport. 19 June 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
3. "England-Samantha Britton". FIFA. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
4. Sweet, Susan (25 August 1997). "England excel as Coultard joins club". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
5. Adam Szreter (5 May 1998). "Women's Football: Another trophy for the Gunners". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
6. "Grein - Samantha Britton rekin úr enska landsliðinu" (in Icelandic). MBL.is. 28 November 2000. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
7. Pete Lansley (30 June 2001). "Britton survives drug 'shame'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 February 2011.^{[dead link]}
8. Tony Leighton (12 March 2001). "The highs and lows of Britton". BBC Sport. London. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
9. "Cite revel in relegation win". The Guardian. London. 7 March 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
10. Paula Cocozza (3 February 2003). "Women's Football". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
11. Gerty, David (31 May 2023). "England squad named for World Cup". The FA. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
12. Lacey-Hatton, Jack (18 November 2022). "Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present". Mirror. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
13. "Stories From The 90's - JJ Heritage".