Table of Contents
Biography
Francesca Kirby popularly known as “Fran” was born on the 29th of June 1993 to the family of Steve Kirby and Denise Kirby in Reading, United Kingdom. She is an English professional footballer. She plays the role of an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national football team. She started her career with her hometown club Reading before moving to Chelsea in July 2015.
In August 2014, Kirby bagged her first senior cap for England. After which she represented her country at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 in the Netherlands.
In April 2018, Kirby was awarded the PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Women’s Footballer of the Year. She was named to the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or in 2021, ranking 10th. She was also named to the Top 10 of The Guardian’s The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World in 2021, ranking 7th.
As of December 2020, she is Chelsea’s all-time top scorer. Kirby was hailed as a “stand out player” in Great Britain’s gold medal-winning team at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. She went on to represent Great Britain at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
| Full Name: | Francesca Kirby |
| Current club: | Super League club Chelsea and the England women’s national football team |
| Born: | June 29, 1993 |
| Place of Birth: | Reading, United Kingdom |
| Nationality: | British |
| Height: | 5 feet 2 inches |
| Parents: | Steve Kirby (father) and Denise Kirby (mother) |
| Siblings: | Jamie Kirby |
| Husband• Spouse: | N/A |
| Zodiac sign: Cancer | |
| Children: | N/A |
| Occupation: | footballer |
| Net Worth: | $2 million. |
PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year: 20-2021
PFA WSL 1 Team of the Year: 2017–2018
PFA WSL 1 Team of the Year: 2020–2021
FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year: 2017–2018
Football Writers’ Association Women’s Footballer of the Year- 2021
FA Women’s Super League Player of the Month: January 2021, AND September 2021
London Football Awards Women’s Super League Player of the Year: 2020–2021
FA Women’s Super League Player of the Year: 2020–2021)
Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year (2017–2018)
Chelsea Women’s Player of the Year (2020–2021)
Early Life & Education
Francesca Kirby popularly known as “Fran” was born on the 29th of June 1993 to the family of Steve Kirby and Denise Kirby in Reading, United Kingdom.
She grew up with her only brother, Jamie Kirby. Kirby’s childhood was full of trauma and depression as she suffered depression when her mother died, and she was barely fourteen years. She suffered from a brain haemorrhage at fourteen due to the death of her mother.
Kirby attended Caversham Park Primary School and Chiltern Edge, Sonning Common where she played against boys.
At the age of Seven, she joined Reading’s academy and made her senior appearance at the age of sixteen.
Kirby started playing football at a very tender age because she was attracted to football when she was tender. Although she use to watch her brother play.
She bagged honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) from the University of Winchester.
Personal Life
Francesca Kirby is currently not married but rumor had it that she is a gay and dating Maren Mjelde, a Norwegian footballer, although their relationship is a secret one.
Kirby’s name got enlisted in the diva magazine for being a visible lesbian 100 lesbian list candidate.
Kirby is among the richest female football player. She was listed as the most popular soccer player.
In February 2020, Chelsea revealed Kirby had successfully recovered from pericarditis, a potential career ending illness. Kirby had fallen ill in November 2019 and came close to retiring from the game as a result.
In April 2022, Kirby showed on Twitter that she had continued to succumb to an “on-going issue” throughout her career and wanted to “put her health first”. Emma Hayes, the manager of Chelsea Women, elucidate during a press conference that Kirby had been “suffering a lot with fatigue”, yet the cause for this is currently unknown.
Kirby is currently out of football due to health issues.
Career
Kirby started her career with her hometown club Reading at the age of seven and engaged her way through the youth teams. She made her appearance for the first team at the age of sixteen but quit football the following year after an unexpected depression, due to the death of her mother. Kirby returned to the club in 2012 and went on to become the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division’s top scorer for the 2012–2013 season, with a total number of thirty-two (32) goals in 21 appearances.
While with Reading she was promoted to the newly formed Women’s Super League 2 for 2014, Kirby helped the team achieve third place with a total number of twenty-four (24) goals in sixteen appearances. She ended the season as the league’s top goalscorer; scoring four against London Bees, as well as hat-tricks against Durham, Watford and Doncaster Rovers Belles. Shortly after, she became the first female player to receive a professional contract from the club. At the 2014 FA Women’s Awards, Kirby was named the inaugural WSL2 Players’ Player of the Year.
Kirby continued her goalscoring form into the 2015 WSL2 season, taking 11 goals in five league appearances for Reading, including all four goals in a 4–2 away win against Yeovil Town and five goals in a 7–0 win against London Bees. Following the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Reading accepted an undisclosed transfer fee from Chelsea and she completed a move in July 2015. It was rumored that the fee of between £40,000 and £60,000 constituted a British record, although Chelsea denied this was the case and Kirby was not aware of the figure.
At the 2015 FA Women’s Cup Final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Kirby was a cup-tied spectator for Chelsea’s 1–0 win over Notts County. It was Chelsea’s first major trophy. In October 2015, she scored twice in Chelsea’s 4–0 win over Sunderland which secured the club’s first FA WSL title; a league and cup double. The same month, Kirby scored Chelsea’s first ever UEFA Women’s Champions League goal in a 1–0 win over Glasgow City.
Kirby’s form extended into the 2016 FA WSL season. In April, she secured Chelsea’s return to Wembley Stadium by scoring a late, extra-time winner against Manchester City in the FA Women’s Cup semi-final. Four days later, she scored both goals in Chelsea’s 2–0 WSL win at Arsenal.
On 22 April 2018, Kirby was awarded the PFA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Women’s Footballer of the Year for the 2017–2018 season.
In February 2020, Chelsea announced that Kirby was diagnosed with pericarditis, which had ruled her out of the team since November 2019. She overcame her infection, despite being told by cardiologists that she may never play again, and played 70 minutes in Chelsea’s FA Community Shield win against Manchester City on 29 August 2020.
On 9 December 2020, Kirby’s 2 goals in a 5–0 win against Benfica in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, saw her overtake Eniola Aluko as Chelsea’s all-time goal scorer, with her 69th and 70th goals for the club, five years after signing.
During a match against her former club, Reading on 10 January 2021, Kirby scored four goals lifting Chelsea to a 5–0 win. In the 2021 FA Women’s League Cup final match against Bristol City W.F.C., Kirby scored two goals and created four assists as defending champions Chelsea won 6–0 at Vicarage Road.
Kirby was singled out by observers as the top performer for Chelsea during their double-winning 2020–2021 campaign. She later won FWA’s 2021 Women’s Footballer of the Year award. On 5 December, Kirby scored the opening goal in the delayed 2020–2021 FA Cup final against Arsenal, helping her team lift the trophy and secure the domestic quadruple of the 2020–2021 season, the first English women’s club to achieve the feat.
Early in her career, Kirby was a member of the England under-23 squad. She became the first WSL 2 player to be called up to the senior squad, in June 2014 for the World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Ukraine. She was named on the substitutes’ bench against Belarus but did not make an appearance. She made her senior international appearance against Sweden in August 2014, getting the second goal in a 4–0 friendly win at Victoria Park, Hartlepool.
In May 2015, England manager Mark Sampson named Kirby in his final squad for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted in Canada. She scored in England’s 2–1 win over Mexico and was hailed “mini Messi” by Sampson. Although Kirby was disappointed to be ruled out by injury from the quarter-finals onwards, England’s eventual third-place finish left her with a positive overall impression of the tournament: “a fantastic experience and one I won’t forget in a hurry.”
Sampson kept Kirby in the national team for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 qualifying campaign. In Estonia on 21 September 2015 she scored twice in England’s 8–0 win. After “12 months of hell” caused by knee and ankle injuries, Kirby returned to England’s line-up for UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 in the Netherlands. In England’s opening fixture against rivals Scotland, second striker Kirby’s clever dummy sent Jodie Taylor through to score England’s opening goal in a 6–0 rout. In the next match Kirby and Taylor scored in a 2–0 win over Spain, which secured England’s place in the quarter-final. When England were thrashed 3–0 by the hosts in the semi-final, Kirby was regretful, as she said thus; “We had chances and could have had a few penalties. We are bitterly disappointed”.
On 6 October 2018, Kirby scored in England’s 1–0 friendly win over Brazil at Meadow Lane. In post-match interviews England coach Phil Neville breathlessly proclaimed Kirby’s superiority to six-time World Player of the Year Marta: “I’d take my No 10 over Brazil’s No 10, that’s for sure”.
In June 2022 Kirby was included in the England squad which won the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022.
Kirby was hailed as a “stand out player” in Great Britain’s gold medal-winning team at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. She went on to represent Great Britain at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Net Worth
Francesca Kirby has worked as a footballer right from child. she has accumulated a satisfactory fortune from playing football. Francesca Kirby has an astonished net worth of $2 million.
Social Media
Francesca Kirby as humble and hardworking as she is discovered that she also has some social media platforms where she can be connected.
- @Francesca Kirby (@frankirby) is her Instagram handle.
- @Francesca Kirby (@frankirby) is her Twitter handle.
