Karen Walker (footballer)

Karen Walker

Personal information
Date of birth	(1969-07-29) 29 July 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth	Mexborough, England[1]
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–2004	Doncaster Rovers Belles
2004–2006	Leeds United Ladies
International career
1988–2003	England	86	(41)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Karen Walker (born 29 July 1969)^[2] is an English former international football centre-forward. She played for Doncaster Belles for 20 years, starting at the age of 15, and began playing for England as a teenager, making 83 appearances and scoring a record 40 goals until she retired from international football in 2003.^[3] Walker's uncompromising style of play earned her the sobriquet "Wacker".^[4]

Walker is particularly remembered for her performances in the 1995 World Cup in Sweden.^[5] She finished her career with two seasons at Leeds United, and in her last game, against Arsenal in the 2006 FA Cup Final,^[6] she left the pitch to a standing ovation.

In 2007, she was part of the BBC team covering the FIFA Women's World Cup in China.^[7] Later that year she was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.^[3]

Walker's neighbour, Karen Skillcorn, was already playing for Doncaster Belles and recruited Walker as a fifteen-year-old. After a period as a substitute, Walker became first choice when the club's regular centre-forward became pregnant.^[8] In a long career with the club she eventually played in 11 FA Women's Cup finals, winning five of them.^[3] With the formation of the National Division in 1991, Walker scored 36 goals in 14 games to help Doncaster win the inaugural title.^[9] Red Star Southampton were vanquished 4–0 in the 1992 WFA Cup Final as the club won a League and Cup double. Walker reportedly set a record by scoring a hat-trick in every round of the Cup, including the final.^[10]

In July 1988, Walker made her England debut as a teenager against an Italy B team in the Mundialito tournament. Scoring with her first kick of the ball inspired Walker to take her subsequent football career much more seriously.^[8]

In November 2022, Walker was recognized by The Football Association as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 72nd women's player to be capped by England.^[11][12]

Since The Football Association took over the team in 1993. Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Scored
3	25 September 1993	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana	Slovenia	10–0	1995 UEFA Championship Qual.	3
5	6 November 1993	KVV Coxyde, Koksijde	Belgium	3–0	1995 UEFA Championship Qual.	2
7	13 March 1994	City Ground, Nottingham	Belgium	6–0	1995 UEFA Championship Qual.	2
9	17 April 1994	Griffin Park, Brentford	Slovenia	10–0	1995 UEFA Championship Qual.	2
10	8 June 1995	Tingvalla IP, Karlstad	Nigeria	3–2	1995 World Cup	1
12	19 November 1995	The Valley, London	Croatia	5–0	1997 UEFA Championship Qual.	2
13	23 May 1998	Sportpark Olympia, Waalwijk	Netherlands	1–2	1999 World Cup Qual.	1
15	13 September 1998	Stadionul Poiana, Câmpina	Romania	4–1	1999 World Cup Qual.	2
16	11 October 1998	Adams Park, Wycombe	Romania	2–1	1999 World Cup Qual.	1
17	26 May 1999	Lugo, Emilia-Romagna	Italy	1–4	Friendly	1
18	22 August 1999	Odense Stadion, Odense	Denmark	1–0	Friendly	1
19	17 October 1999	Sportanlagen Trinermatten, Zofingen	Switzerland	3–0	2001 UEFA Championship Qual.	1
20	20 February 2000	Oakwell, Barnsley	Portugal	2–0	2001 UEFA Championship Qual.	1
21	30 October 2000	Kolos Stadium, Boryspil	Ukraine	2–1	2001 UEFA Championship Qual.	1
22	24 November 2001	Complexo Desportivo da Gafanha, Gafanha da Nazaré	Portugal	1–1	2003 World Cup Qual.	1
24	5 March 2002	Estádio Municipal, Lagos	Sweden	3–6	Algarve Cup	2
25	7 March 2002	Estádio Municipal, Quarteira	Scotland	4–1	Algarve Cup	1
25	23 March 2002	Zuiderpark Stadion, The Hague	Netherlands	4–0	2003 World Cup Qual.	1
27	16 September 2002	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík	Iceland	2–2	2003 World Cup Qual.	2