22993
Former footballer Lianne Sanderson won 50 caps for England, and has played at club level for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Juventus.
Since retiring, Lianne has made a name for herself as a football pundit, reporting for BBC, the Premier League Channel, and talk SPORT, as well as covering the National Women’s Soccer League in the US for CBS and Paramount+. She has also appeared on entertainment programmes such as A Question of Sport (2021-22).
Lianne Sanderson’s early experience of football was playing for a boys’ team in London. With a footballer for a father (her dad played for Crystal Palace), Lianne was brought up with the game, and was desperate to play for real. When she was just nine years old, she signed for Arsenal. She played in both their youth programme, and in the senior team, winning the 2006 FA Women’s Cup final and being voted Player of the Match. She would go on to finish the season as their top score, with 40 goals in 41 games.
She joined Chelsea Ladies in 2008, before joining US team Philadelphia Independence. It wasn’t just the USA that she played in though. Whilst she would go on to play with D.C United Women and the Boston Breakers, she also played for the Spanish league team, Espanyol. She re-signed with Arsenal in 2014, before going on to play, once again, in the US, this time for Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride, and Western New York Flash. Her final signing was with Juventus in 2018, before she announced her retirement.
As well as her spectacular club career, Lianne played for England in the under-15, under-17, under 19, and under-21 youth levels, and made her debut in the senior team in 2006. She would go on to appear at FIFA Women’s World Cups and Euro Championships, and retired with 50 caps to her name.
Since retiring, she has made a name for herself as a football pundit, appearing on Football Focus (2015-18), Soccer AM (2020-21), and The Women’s Football Show (2020). She has also appeared on entertainment shows, including Crouchy’s Year-Late Euros (2021), Celebrity Chase (2022), CelebAbility (2022), and A Question of Sport (2021-22).
