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Maria Edwards (footballer)

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Maria Edwards
Personal information
Date of birth (2003-05-12) 12 May 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Manchester, England
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Blackburn Rovers
Youth career
2013–2015 Manchester City
2015–2017 Manchester United
2017–2019 Manchester City
2019–2022 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Manchester United 0 (0)
2020–2021 → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 14 (2)
2022–2024 SGS Essen 20 (1)
2024– Blackburn Rovers 0 (0)
International career‡
2017 England U15 3 (4)
2018 England U16 6 (5)
2019 England U17 3 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 August 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 September 2019

Maria Edwards (born 12 May 2003) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

She previously came through the youth ranks at both Manchester City and Manchester United, and played professionally in the German Bundesliga with SGS Essen. She has represented her nation at under-15, under-16 and under-17 level.

Club career

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Youth career

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Maria Edwards started her football career in the Manchester City academy. She was the leading goalscorer for her respective age bracket, scoring 70 goals in 24 games during the 2014–15 season.[1] On 13 June 2015, Edwards was signed by Manchester United and joined the Regional Talent Club before returning to Manchester City in 2017.[1] On 14 April 2018, Edwards scored a hat-trick for Manchester City U16s during a 3–1 victory over Reading in the final of the FA Youth Cup at St George’s Park.[2][3]

Manchester United

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2019–20 season

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In 2019, Edwards rejoined United following the creation of a senior team the season before. The club also entered a full-time U21 team to compete in the FA WSL Academy League for the first time.[4][5] Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Edwards received the number 24 shirt and traveled to Norway with the senior team during preseason, making her unofficial senior debut in a friendly against Vålerenga.[6] On 16 September 2019, Edwards was named as a substitute for the senior team for the first time during United's FA Women's Super League game against Arsenal.[7] In her first season back with United, Edwards finished as the academy team's top scorer, scoring 23 goals in 18 appearances.[8]

2020–21 season: Loan to Blackburn Rovers

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On 7 October 2020, Edwards joined Championship team Blackburn Rovers on loan for the season.[9] She made her senior debut the same day as a 56th-minute substitute in a 1–0 League Cup group stage loss to WSL side Birmingham City.[10] She scored her first goal for the club on 13 December 2020, scoring in the opening 30 seconds of a 3–3 Championship draw with Sheffield United.[11]

SGS Essen

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On 6 August 2022, Edwards signed for German Bundesliga club SGS Essen.[12] On 11 December 2022, she scored her first and only goal for SGS Essen against MSV Duisburg in a 6–0 victory.[13][14] Her contract was mutually terminated on 5 January 2024.[15]

Blackburn Rovers

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On 6 August 2024, Edwards returned to Blackburn Rovers, signing a permanent deal with the Championship team.[16]

International career

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In October 2019, Edwards was called up to England U17 squad for the 2020 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualifying round in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She made her U17 debut as a substitute in the opening game against Croatia.[17] Edwards played in all three group games and scored two goals.[18][19]

Personal life

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Edwards previously also competed in boxing having started aged 8 at the Collyhurst and Moston Boxing Club in Manchester and was coached by former boxer Thomas McDonagh.[1][20] She is a two-time England Boxing National Schools Champion, winning in 2016 and 2017.[21][22]

She has named her sporting heroes as Ronaldo and Marta in football, and Nicola Adams and Manny Pacquiao in boxing.[1]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 6 August 2024.[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2019–20 Women's Super League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020–21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021–22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2020–21 Championship 14 2 0 0 2 0 16 2
SGS Essen 2022–23 Bundesliga 14 1 3 0 — 17 1
2023–24 6 0 2 0 — 8 0
Total 20 1 5 0 0 0 25 1
Blackburn Rovers 2024–25 Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 34 3 5 0 2 0 41 3
  1. ^ Includes the FA Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes the FA Women's League Cup

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Meet Champion Boxer and new Manchester United signing Maria Edwards". 10 July 2015.
  2. ^ Oatway, Caroline. "Double delight for Academy aces". www.mancity.com.
  3. ^ "Manchester City fightback to win FA Girls' Youth Cup". SheKicks. 14 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Healy launches WSL Academy side". Twitter. 29 July 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Full-Time : Division". full-time.thefa.com.
  6. ^ "Valerenga v Man United Women friendly match report". www.manutd.com.
  7. ^ "Man United Women v Arsenal Women match report 16 September 2019". www.manutd.com.
  8. ^ "Manchester United WFC Academy". fulltime-league.thefa.com.
  9. ^ "Rovers loan Edwards from United". www.rovers.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Blackburn 0-1 Birmingham". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  11. ^ "Sheffield United 3-3 Blackburn Rovers". womenscompetitions.thefa.com.
  12. ^ "SGS internationalisiert Strategie – Maria Edwards für zwei Jahre von Manchester United verpflichtet – Der Frauenfussball-Bundesligist aus Essen". www.sgs-essen.de. 6 August 2022.
  13. ^ Germany, RevierSport, Essen. "Frauen-Bundesliga: SGS Essen demontiert MSV Duisburg im Derby". Reviersport.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "SGS gewinnt 6:0 zum Jahresabschluss – Gala beim Derbysieg in Duisburg – Der Frauenfussball-Bundesligist aus Essen". www.sgs-essen.de. 11 December 2022.
  15. ^ "SGS und Maria Edwards lösen Vertrag auf - Der Frauenfussball-Bundesligist aus Essen". sgs-essen.de (in German). 5 January 2024.
  16. ^ Frith, Wilf (6 August 2024). "Maria Edwards back with Blackburn Rovers Women".
  17. ^ Association, The Football. "England Women's U17s 2-0 Croatia". www.thefa.com.
  18. ^ Association, The Football. "England 4-0 Bosnia: UEFA Women's U17 Championship qualifier". www.thefa.com.
  19. ^ Association, The Football. "Belgium 1-4 England: UEFA Women's U17 Championship qualifier". www.thefa.com.
  20. ^ "Video Feature: Maria Edwards Boxing Champion and Manchester City Player". British Boxers BBTV.
  21. ^ "England Boxing National Schools Championships 2016". England Boxing.
  22. ^ "England Boxing National Schools Championships 2017". England Boxing.
  23. ^ "Maria Edwards soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
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