Anita Asante facts for kids
Asante 2022
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 April 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | London, England | ||
| Height | 1.67 m | ||
| Playing position | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2003 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2008 | Arsenal | ||
| 2008–2009 | Chelsea | 11 | (0) |
| 2009 | Sky Blue FC | 16 | (0) |
| 2010 | Saint Louis Athletica | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | (0) |
| 2010 | Washington Freedom | 6 | (0) |
| 2011 | Sky Blue FC | 12 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Göteborg | 41 | (9) |
| 2013–2017 | FC Rosengård | 80 | (2) |
| 2018–2020 | Chelsea | 7 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Aston Villa | 35 | (2) |
| National team | |||
| 2004–2018 | England | 71 | (2) |
| 2012 | Great Britain | 4 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2022- | Bristol City Women | ||
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Anita Amma Ankyewah Asante (born 27 April 1985) is an English football coach and former player. She is currently the first-team coach at Bristol City. Anita played as a defender or midfielder.
She earned 71 caps for the English national team. She was also part of the Great Britain squad for the 2012 London Olympics. During her club career, Anita played for several teams. These include Arsenal, Chelsea, and Aston Villa in England. She also played for teams in the American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league. Later, she spent six seasons playing in Sweden.
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Education and Early Life
Anita Asante studied Politics and English at Brunel University. She received help from a special UK government program. This program, called the "Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme," supports athletes. It helps them balance their sports careers with full-time education. She also started a PhD in the United States. Her research focused on how women's football is managed.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Arsenal
Anita joined her first club, Arsenal, as a young player in 1998. She became a senior player in the 2003–2004 season. Anita was a key part of the Arsenal team that won many trophies in 2006–2007. They won four major competitions that year. These included the UEFA Women's Cup, the FA Women's National Premier League, the FA Women's Cup, and the FA Women's Premier League Cup.
Arsenal made history by winning the UEFA Women's Cup. They were the first team from outside Germany or Scandinavia to achieve this. Anita played very well in the final match.
Moving to Chelsea and USA
On 3 July 2008, Anita and her teammate Lianne Sanderson joined Chelsea Ladies. Anita was excited to join Chelsea. She wanted to help the team compete for championships. She believed the team had great players and a lot of energy.
Her former manager at Arsenal, Vic Akers, was not happy about her leaving. He felt that the players had not shown enough respect.
In 2009, Anita moved to the United States. She joined Sky Blue FC in the WPS league. She helped her team win the first-ever WPS championship. Later, she played for other American teams. These included Saint Louis Athletica, Chicago Red Stars, and Washington Freedom.
Playing in Sweden
In December 2010, Anita returned to Sky Blue FC for a second time. However, the WPS league stopped operating before the 2012 season. Anita then signed with a Swedish club called Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. Her first game for Göteborg was against her old club, Arsenal. It was a UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final match.
Anita played 41 league games for Göteborg over two seasons. She scored nine goals during this time. She also won the Swedish Cup and the Swedish Super Cup with Göteborg. In October 2013, she signed with LdB FC Malmö, who were the national champions.
At FC Rosengård, Anita won several more titles. These included the Damallsvenskan league in 2014 and 2015. She also won the Swedish Cup in 2016. Additionally, she won the Swedish Super Cup in 2016 and 2017. Anita reached the Champions League quarter-finals three times with FC Rosengård.
Return to England and Retirement
On 7 June 2020, Anita signed with Aston Villa. They had just been promoted to the Women's Super League. Her first goal for Aston Villa was the winning goal in a 1–0 match. This was against their rivals, Birmingham City. On 26 April 2022, Anita announced that she would retire from playing football. Her last season was the 2021–2022 season.
International Career
Playing for England
Anita Asante played for England's youth teams. She was part of the England Under 17 team. She also captained the England Under 19s. She played in the first FIFA World Under 19 Championship in Canada in 2002. She earned 11 international appearances at this level. In 2004, she was called up for the England Under 21s. This was just a month after her first senior international game.
Anita made her senior international debut in May 2004. She came on as a substitute against Iceland. Her first full international game was against Northern Ireland in March 2005. She scored her first international goal in her second full game. This was against Norway in April 2005. Her goal turned out to be the winning one. Anita was chosen for England's squad for Euro 2005.
She played in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She made her 50th senior international appearance in a 2–0 win against Japan. Anita was part of the English team that reached the final of Euro 2009. She was hopeful for England's chances in Euro 2013. However, England was eliminated in the first round.
In 2015, Anita was not selected for England's squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She had signed a petition against the artificial turf used at the tournament. She later spoke about how the coach, Mark Sampson, told her she wasn't selected.
When Phil Neville became the new England head coach, he called Anita back to the squad. This was for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. In the first match of the tournament, Anita suffered a serious knee injury. She had to leave the game after only fourteen minutes.
The FA gave Anita the legacy number 152. This was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of England's first international match.
Playing for Great Britain in the Olympics
In June 2012, Anita was chosen for the Great Britain squad. This was for the 2012 London Olympics. She played in all four games for Great Britain. The team was defeated 2–0 by Canada in the quarter-finals.
Coaching Career
Bristol City
On 19 July 2022, Anita Asante became the first team coach for Bristol City W.F.C.. This team plays in the Women's Championship. Bristol City was promoted to a higher league during the 2022–2023 season.
International goals
- Scores and results list England's goal tally first
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 May 2005 | Oakwell, Barnsley |  Norway |
1–0 | Friendly | 1 |
| 2 | 7 March 2014 | GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus |  Finland |
3–0 | 2014 Cyprus Cup | 1 |
Honours
Arsenal
- UEFA Women's Cup: 2007
- FA Women's Cup: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- FA Women's National Premier League: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- FA Women's Premier League Cup: 2005, 2005, 2007
Göteborg
- Svenska Cupen: 2012
- Svenska Supercupen: 2013
FC Rosengård
- Svenska Cupen: 2016
- Svenska Supercupen: 2015, runners up; 2016, 2017
- Individual
- Outstanding Achievement Awards – 19 May 2006 - Presented by the Queen at Brunel University
- Player of the year – (2003/04)
- Sports Award – (Ghana Professional Awards 2004)
- Nationwide Player of the month – March 2006
- Women's Super League Hall of Fame: 2023
See Also
In Spanish: Anita Asante para niños
