Who is Australia defender Alanna Kennedy?
ALANNA Kennedy has achieved success at a number of clubs during her career.
Here we take a look inside the life of the Australian defender.
Who is Alanna Kennedy?
Alanna Kennedy, born on January 21, 1995, is an Australian professional football player.
Kennedy, who plays as a defender, is recognised as being a versatile, technical player and right-footed free kick specialist.
She is also capable of playing in midfield.
As a child, the sports star was raised in the Sydney suburb of Rosemeadow and attended primary school at Rosemeadow Public and selective sports school Westfields Sports High School.
In her youth, Kennedy was the only girl on an all-boys team, before playing for the Campbelltown Cobras.
She has also trained with the Girls Skills Acquisition Program (GSAP) at MacArthur Rams.
What teams has Alanna Kennedy played for?
Alanna Kennedy has achieved success at a number of clubs during her glittering career so far.
She started her career playing for Sydney FC in the 2010–11 season, where she featured in 3 games.
Kennedy then made the decision to switch clubs and joined the Newcastle Jets, before returning to Sydney FC in the 2012–13 season.
For the following season, the sports star joined city rivals Western Sydney Wanderers, before joining Perth Glory.
After a number of career moves, Kennedy returned to Sydney FC in 2015, where she remained for the following two seasons.
A year later in 2016, The Campbelltown-born defender signed with the Western New York Flash in the National Women’s Soccer League, where she made 17 appearances.
In 2017, she made yet another move – this time to Orlando Pride, where she appeared in every game that season.
In the final match, Kennedy scored the game-winning goal on a free kick in stoppage time.
This win allowed Orlando to finish the regular season in third place and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in club history.
Kennedy then joined Melbourne City on loan for the 2017–18 season.
After spending one season at Melbourne City, Kennedy returned to Sydney FC once again in 2018 and remained at the club until 2020.
That same year, she made the move to Tottenham Hotspur on a six-month loan, before signing permanently with the club until the end of the season.
In May 2021, Kennedy was released by Tottenham, which opened the door for her next signing – a two-year deal with Manchester City.
Kennedy put pen-to-paper on a two-year contract extension with the Manchester club in May 2023.
While playing at the Academy Stadium, she wears the No.33 shirt.
How long has Alanna Kennedy played for Australia?
Kennedy has spent the majority of her career so far in her native Australia with the likes of Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory.
She has also been part of Australia women’s national football team, the Matildas, for over a decade.
In 2012, Kennedy made her national team debut for the Matildas aged 17, against New Zealand.
In May 2015, the defender was named to Australia’s 23-player roster for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The following year she attended her first Olympic Games in 2016 before attending once again as a member of the Matildas Tokyo 2020 Olympics squad.
Kennedy then went on to become part of the Matildas squad that won the 2017 Tournament of Nations and defeated the United States for the first time ever.
In May 2019, Kennedy was named to the Matildas squad for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
For the third time in 2023, Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson proudly announced Kennedy as part of the 23-player squad that would be representing Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.