Cecily Wellesley-Smith
English footballer (born 2007)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cecily Margaret Wellesley-Smith (born 4 January 2007) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swedish Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård, on loan from Women's Super League club Arsenal.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cecily Margaret Wellesley-Smith[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 January 2007[1] | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre-back[2] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
FC Rosengård (on loan from Arsenal) | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016–2023 | Oxford United | ||
| 2024–2025 | Arsenal W.F.C. Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023–2025 | Oxford United | 16 | (0) |
| 2025– | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Leicester City (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2026– | → FC Rosengård (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| England U16 | |||
| 2024 | England U17 | 15 | (0) |
| 2025 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2025 | England U20 | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 05:29, 30 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 05:29, 30 March 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Oxford United
At the age of 9, Wellesley-Smith joined Oxford United.[3] She progressed through the ranks of the club, eventually joining the first team at age 16 during the 2023–24 season.[4][5] In her first season of senior football, she became a regular in the Oxford United starting lineup.[4] The following year, she made 16 competitive appearances for the club.[6]
Arsenal
Wellesley-Smith also spent much of the 2024–25 campaign with Arsenal, who signed her to a dual-registration agreement that also allowed her to compete for the Arsenal Women's Academy Under-21 side.[6] She went on to become a prominent contributor in the Arsenal Under-21 squad's PGA League Division One title.[7] On 24 June 2025, Arsenal announced that they had signed Wellesley-Smith to her first professional contract.[7][8]
Leicester City (loan)
In September 2025, the club sent her on a loan spell through the 2025–26 season to fellow Women's Super League club Leicester City.[6] It marked Wellesley-Smith's first time living away from home.[2] Later that month, Wellesley-Smith made her Leicester City debut, participating in a 5–1 Women's League Cup victory over Ipswich Town.[9] She would go on to struggle to earn playing time with Leicester, failing to earn any further appearances following her debut.[10] In January 2026, Wellesley-Smith was recalled to Arsenal after only completing half of the original loan agreement.[11]
FC Rosengård (loan)
On 2 February 2026,[12] Wellesley-Smith was announced to have joined Swedish Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård through the remainer of the WSL season.[13][14] She made her club debut twelve days later, earning the starting nod in a Svenska Cupen match against Vittsjö GIK to kick off Rosengård's season.[15] On 17 March 2026, she scored her first Rosengård goal, heading in the final goal in a 3–0 victory over Växjö DFF to close out Rosengård's Svenska Cupen campaign with a win.[16]
International career
Wellesley-Smith has represented England at multiple youth international levels. In November 2022, she captained the under-16 team in a friendly match against Wales.[17] In 2024, she was a member of the under-17 squad that finished the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship as runners-up after losing to Spain in the final.[18] She was named to the Team of the Tournament alongside England teammates Lola Brown and Nelly Las.[5] Later the same year, Wellesley-Smith helped the under-17s to a fourth-place finish in the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[19] Wellesley-Smith has also been capped at the under-19 and under-20 levels.[10]
