Jayne Louise Ludlow is a Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 player. She plays for the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 side Arsenal

Arsenal L.F.C.

Arsenal Ladies Football Club are an English women's association football club affiliated with Arsenal F.C.. Founded in 1987, they are the most successful club in English women's football having won 34 major trophies to date; which are 12 FA Women's Premier League titles, 11 FA Women's Cups, ten...

, and captains the Welsh national team

Wales women's national football team

The Wales women's national football team team represents Wales in international women's football. They have yet to qualify for the final stages of the World Cup or European Championships and are currently ranked 47th in the world and 27th in Europe...

. Ludlow plays as a Midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

 and is Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer.

Club career

Ludlow's father had been a professional football player, and she began her own football career early, playing with a boys' team before having to stop aged 12. Jayne then had a promising junior career in athletics

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

, being the British record holder in the triple jump at Under-17 level and also representing the UK at the Under-20s level. She also represented Wales at netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 and basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. Ludlow decided to focus on football, but had to travel to Barry Town to play since there were no girls' teams in the South Wales Valleys

South Wales Valleys

The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...

.

Ludlow won a scholarship

Scholarship

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

 to Pennsylvania University

Pennsylvania University

Pennsylvania University may refer to one of two unrelated universities:* University of Pennsylvania, a private university* Pennsylvania State University, a state-related university...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, but left months into the four-year course due to dissatisfaction with the standard of football. She then moved to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and played for Millwall Lionesses

Millwall Lionesses L.F.C.

Millwall Lionesses Ladies Football Club were founded in March 1972 by Patricia Maslin and Rita Bullions. In a time when women's football was almost unheard of the group of women who made up the Lionesses were at first snubbed by Millwall FC but went on to became the first women's football team to...

 and Southampton Saints

Southampton Saints L.F.C.

Southampton Saints Girls and Ladies Football Club is an English women's football club formerly affiliated with Southampton F.C.. They play in the South West Combination Women's Football League, after winning the Southern Region Women's Footbal League in 2009–10.The club is descended from the...

 while completing a physiotherapy degree at King's College, London.

Joining Arsenal

Arsenal L.F.C.

Arsenal Ladies Football Club are an English women's association football club affiliated with Arsenal F.C.. Founded in 1987, they are the most successful club in English women's football having won 34 major trophies to date; which are 12 FA Women's Premier League titles, 11 FA Women's Cups, ten...

 in 2000, Ludlow scored 28 goals from midfield as she helped the Gunners to a domestic treble in her first season. At the time manager Vic Akers described her as "the best box-to-box player in the women's game". She was voted Players' Player of the Year in 2001, an achievement she repeated in 2003 and 2004. In 2007 Ludlow was a key part of the side which won an unprecedented quadruple, scoring 24 goals. In the 2005 off-season she returned to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to play for New York Magic

New York Magic

New York Magic is an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2003. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team plays in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference against the D.C...

.

She has continued to play for Arsenal, becoming vice-captain and the club's all-time leading scorer. Her favourite player is Roy Keane

Roy Keane

Roy Maurice Keane is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland....

.

International career

Ludlow won her first senior Wales cap at the age of 17, against the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland women's national football team

The Republic of Ireland women's national football team, selects players from both the 350 Women's Football Association of Ireland teams, in 21 affiliate leagues throughout the nation, and the international women's football community. The WFAI was founded in 1973...

 in February 1996.

In early 2010 Ludlow left the Wales team after many years of disenchantment and a dispute with the coach Adrian Tucker. In November 2010 she returned to the fold following the appointment of new coach Jarmo Matikainen

Jarmo Matikainen

Jarmo Matikainen is an Finnish football player and coach, who currently manages the Wales women's national football team....

. Ludlow then won her 50th cap, and scored her 18th goal, in captaining Wales to an 8-1 win over Bulgaria

Bulgaria women's national football team

The Bulgaria national women’s football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union.-World Cup record:-Current squad:-External links:*...

.

Honours

• UEFA Women's Cup
  UEFA Women's Cup
  The UEFA Women's Champions League is the first international women's association football club competition for teams that play in UEFA nations. Initially known as the UEFA Women's Cup, the competition has been re-branded since the 2009-2010 edition as the UEFA Women's Champions League...
  
  : 1

2006-07

• FA Women's Premier League National Division
  FA Women's Premier League National Division
  The FA Women's Premier League National Division is the second level of the English women's football league pyramid. From 1991 until the introduction of the summer competition FA Women's Super League the National Division functioned as the top league in England. Below it are simultaneously the...
  
  : 9

2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10

• FA Women's Cup
  FA Women's Cup
  The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
  
  : 6

2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008–09.

• Women's League Cup: 4

2000–01, 2004–05, 2006-07, 2008-09

• FA Players' Player of the Year Award: 3

2000-01, 2002–03, 2003–04.

External links