Jemma Elizabeth Purfield (born 21 February 1997) is an English footballer who plays as a full-back for Women's Championship club Southampton.

Jemma Purfield
Purfield with Southampton in 2023
Personal information
Full name Jemma Elizabeth Purfield[1]
Date of birth (1997-02-21) 21 February 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Beverley, England
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Position(s) Full-back
Team information
Current team
Southampton
Number 21
Youth career
2002–2008 Cottingham Rangers
2008–2011 Hull Centre of Excellence
2011–2013 North Yorkshire Centre of Excellence
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 South Alabama Jaguars 45 (14)
2017–2018 Arizona State Sun Devils 35 (8)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2014 Doncaster Rovers Belles 3 (0)
2014–2015 Durham 19 (3)
2019–2020 Liverpool 8 (0)
2020–2021 Bristol City 21 (1)
2021–2023 Leicester City 35 (2)
2023– Southampton 12 (1)
International career
2012 England U15 1+ (1+)
2013 England U17 5+ (0+)
2014 England U19 2+ (0+)
2018 England U23 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 June 2018

Early life

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Born in Beverley, England, Purfield is the younger of two children to her parents, Rob and Liz.[1] She grew up in Cottingham and began playing football at the age of five, joining the kids academy at her local club, Cottingham Rangers, because her brother James already played for the club. When she was seven years old, Purfield was playing on the under-9s boys team for Cottingham, where she was the only girl.[3] She was identified and, after a trial, selected to the Hull Girls Centre of Excellence. When the Hull centre was closed down by The Football Association (FA) as part of a national restructuring of the women's game, Purfield switched to the North Yorkshire Centre of Excellence.[4]

Purfield attended Cottingham High School and Wyke College, where she played on the football team and was named Sports Personality of the Year during her senior season.[1] She captained the team to the Sports Colleges National Cup Final and scored the FA Goal of the Game in the final.[5] At Wyke, she pursued her A-levels in physical education.[6]

Career

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Purfield began her career with Doncaster Rovers Belles, making her senior first team debut on 20 April 2013 as a halftime substitute in a 4–0 WSL defeat to Chelsea. In doing so she became Doncaster's youngest WSL player.[7] Purfield moved to newly founded Durham during the 2014 season, scoring three goals in their inaugural WSL 2 campaign as the team finished 6th.[8]

College career

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In 2015, Purfield moved to the United States on a scholarship to play college soccer, first with the South Alabama Jaguars before transferring to the Arizona State Sun Devils after two seasons.[9] She captained both teams and earned several individual awards, including Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year in 2015 and SBC Player of the Year in 2016.[10][11]

Liverpool

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Purfield declared for the 2019 NWSL College Draft but was not selected.[12] She instead returned to England and signed a contract with FA WSL club Liverpool in January 2019.[13]

Bristol City

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Following Liverpool's relegation, Purfield left upon the expiration of her contract and remained in the WSL after signing a two-year contract with Bristol City.[14][15] She made 27 appearances for Bristol in all competitions, including in the 2021 FA Women's League Cup Final as Bristol City finished runners-up to Chelsea. Purfield left at the end of the season following the team's relegation.[16]

Leicester City

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In July 2021, Purfield joined Leicester City.[17] In June 2023, she departed the club.[18]

Southampton

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In 2023, Purfield joined Southampton.[19]

Career statistics

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As of 17 December 2023[20][21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Domestic cup[a] League cup[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Doncaster Rovers Belles 2013 FA WSL 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 0
2014 FA WSL 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1+ 0+
Total 3 0 0+ 0+ 2+ 0+ 5+ 0+
Durham 2014[22] FA WSL 2 11 3 0 0 0 0 11+ 3+
2015[22] FA WSL 2 8 0 0 0 0 0 8+ 0
Total 19 3 0+ 0 0+ 0+ 19+ 3+
Liverpool 2018–19 FA WSL 6 0 3 2 0 0 9 2
2019–20 FA WSL 2 0 2 0 2 0 6 0
Total 8 0 5 2 2 0 15 2
Bristol City 2020–21 FA WSL 21 1 1 0 5 1 27 2
Leicester City 2021–22 FA WSL 20 2 2 0 4 0 26 2
2022–23 Women's Super League 15 0 1 0 2 0 18 0
Total 35 2 3 0 6 0 44 2
Southampton 2023–24 Women's Championship 12 1 1 1 2 0 15 2
Career total 98 7 10+ 3+ 17+ 1+ 125+ 11+
  1. ^ All appearances in the Women's FA Cup
  2. ^ All appearances in the FA Women's League Cup

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Jemma Purfield – Arizona State profile". Arizona State Sun Devils. Arizona State University. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. ^ Jemma Purfield at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ "Stars of Cottingham Rangers: Jemma Purfield". Cottingham Rangers AFC. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Jemma Purfield's rise in women's football from Cottingham parks to cup finals". Hull Daily Mail. Reach plc. March 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ^ "A Perfect Year" (Press release). Wyke College. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. ^ Award Winning PE Student – Jemma Purfield. Wyke TV. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Jemma Purfield". Tongue Tied Management. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. ^ Friend, Nick (6 November 2014). "Debut season to be proud of for unique Durham side". Palatinate. Durham Students' Union. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Why 2017 is a great opportunity for Women's Football in Hull". Hull Daily Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Jemma Purfield – South Alabama profile". South Alabama Jaguars. University of South Alabama. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Purfield voted Sun Belt soccer player of the year, six named all-conference" (Press release). New Orleans: South Alabama Jaguars. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  12. ^ Purdy, Jacqueline (9 January 2019). "Final list of players registered for the 2019 NWSL College Draft" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Jemma Purfield: Liverpool Women sign England Under-23 winger". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Jemma Purfield departs LFC Women". Liverpool F.C. Women (Press release). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Jemma Purfield is a Robin". Bristol City W.F.C. (Press release). 7 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  16. ^ "City Women trio depart". Bristol City W.F.C. (Press release). 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  17. ^ "LCFC Women Confirm Jemma Purfield Signing". Leicester City. 19 July 2021.
  18. ^ "LCFC Women Confirm End-Of-Season Departures". Leicester City. 6 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Women reinforce with experienced Purfield". Southampton. 25 July 2023.
  20. ^ Jemma Purfield at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Jemma Purfield". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Player Statistics". Durham W.F.C. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
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