List of England national football team captains

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

156 people have officially served as captains of the England national football teams. The current captains are Harry Kane (men's) and Leah Williamson (women's).

England's men's and women's captains, Harry Kane (left, pictured in 2026) and Leah Williamson (right, pictured at a 2022 friendly)

The first England captain was Cuthbert Ottaway; he captained England in the first ever international match, against Scotland on 30 November 1872. He went on to captain England on just one further occasion, the third international match, on 7 March 1874, against the same opposition. Alexander Morten captained England in their first international on home soil, 8 March 1873, also against Scotland, and was the first international captain to win a match. Having previously played for Scotland against England,[1] this was his only international appearance for England. Morten remains England's oldest captain.

The first unofficial women's international match was contested by England and France in 1920, with the Dick, Kerr Ladies "England" side captained by Alice Kell.[2] The England women's team was authorised in 1972 by the Women's Football Association (WFA), originally unaffiliated with the Football Association (FA), and had Sheila Parker as its first captain. The official England women's first international match was played against Scotland on 18 November 1972, in anticipation of the centenary of the equivalent men's match. Parker remained in her role for four years before being left out of the 1976 British Home Championship; her replacement, Carol Thomas (née McCune), was only 20 when she took the armband,[3] and retained it for nearly a decade. Women's players between 1972 and 1993 were not all officially recognised until 2022; there were also several prior to 1972, who were not sanctioned and are not recognised. Thomas is England's youngest official captain under the WFA; Keira Walsh is England's youngest official captain under the FA; Carol Wilson and Casey Stoney unofficially served as captains when younger than Thomas and Walsh.[a]

Billy Wright set the record for most captaincies of his country in 1959, with 90. Bobby Moore, who remains England's youngest men's captain and the only England captain to have lifted the World Cup, reached 90 captaincies in 1973, sharing the record with Wright. Steph Houghton has the record for captaincies of the women's team, and outright fourth-most caps as captain (72) behind Wright and Moore, and Kane. Seven male players were captain in their only international cap, the last of these being in 1925. Williamson is England's only captain to have lifted the Euro, which she has done twice, and the only England captain to win a major trophy outside of England.[5]

Several women's matches have seen two players start as co-captains.[6][7] The most players known to wear the captain's armband for England in one match is four, which has happened three times. On 3 June 2003, Michael Owen started as captain with Emile Heskey, Phil Neville, and Jamie Carragher all wearing the armband.[8][9] On 30 November 2021, Millie Bright started as captain, with Ellen White, Keira Walsh, and Alex Greenwood also wearing the armband.[10][11] On 29 November 2025, Keira Walsh started as captain, and Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway also wore the armband.[12]

Men's team

Captain chronology

  • Bold indicates current captain
  • Italics indicates still-active players
  • Source unless specified:[13]
More information Tenure, Incumbent ...
Tenure Incumbent Reserve captains[b]
1872–1874 Cuthbert Ottaway
1873 Alexander Morten
1875 Charles W. Alcock
1876 Hubert Heron
1877 William Rawson
1878–1879 Arthur Cursham
1879 Henry Wace
1880 Charles Wollaston
1880 Francis Sparks
1881 Jack Hunter
1881–1887 Norman Bailey Charles Bambridge, Jack Hudson, Percy Walters
1888 Tinsley Lindley
1889–1890 Percy Walters Jack Brodie
1890 Arthur Walters
1891 Tinsley Lindley
1891 John Goodall
1891 Billy Moon
1892 Arthur Dunn
1893 George Cotterill Bob Holmes
1894 Bob Holmes
1894 John Goodall
1895 Bob Holmes
1895 Charles Wreford-Brown[c]
1895 R. Cunliffe Gosling[c]
1896–1901 G. O. Smith[d][e] Charles Wreford-Brown, William Oakley, Ernest Needham
1902 R. E. Foster
1902 Frank Forman
1902 Steve Bloomer[f]
1903 Howard Spencer
1903–1904 Bob Crompton
1905 Stan Harris
1905 Howard Spencer
1906 Stan Harris
1907 Bob Crompton
1908–1910 Vivian Woodward Bob Crompton
1910–1914 Bob Crompton Vivian Woodward
1914–1918: World War I
1919 Arthur Knight
1920 Jesse Pennington
1920 Joe McCall
1921 Charlie Buchan
1921 Arthur Grimsdell
1921 Ephraim Longworth
1921–1922 George Wilson Max Woosnam
1922–1923 Arthur Grimsdell
1923–1924 George Wilson Charlie Buchan, Basil Patchitt, Graham Doggart, Frank Moss
1924 Sam Wadsworth
1924–1925 Alfred Bower
1925–1926 Sam Wadsworth Billy Walker, Claude Ashton, Tommy Lucas
1927 Alfred Bower
1927 Jack Hill Fred Kean
1928 Roy Goodall
1928–1929 Willis Edwards
1929 Jack Hill
1929 Willis Edwards
1930 David Jack
1930–1931 Roy Goodall Alf Strange
1931–1933 Ernie Blenkinsop David Jack, Billy Walker
1933 Roy Goodall
1934 Tom Cooper
1934–1939 Eddie Hapgood Jack Barker, George Male, Sam Barkas, Stan Cullis
1939–1945: World War II
1946–1948 George Hardwick Frank Swift
1948–1959 Billy Wright Alf Ramsey
1959–1960 Ronnie Clayton
1960–1962 Johnny Haynes Jimmy Armfield
1962–1964 Jimmy Armfield Bobby Moore
1964–1973 Bobby Moore Ron Flowers, Jimmy Armfield, Bobby Charlton, Alan Mullery, Martin Peters, Colin Bell
1974 Emlyn Hughes
1975 Alan Ball
1975–1976 Gerry Francis Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon
1976–1982 Kevin Keegan Emlyn Hughes, Mick Mills, Phil Thompson, Trevor Cherry, Ray Clemence, Peter Shilton
1982–1991 Bryan Robson Ray Wilkins, Peter Shilton, Terry Butcher, Peter Beardsley
1990–1992 Gary Lineker Mark Wright, Stuart Pearce
1992–1993 Stuart Pearce Paul Ince, David Platt
1993–1995 David Platt Paul Ince, Tony Adams
1995–1996 Tony Adams Alan Shearer
1996–2000 Alan Shearer Stuart Pearce, Paul Ince, David Seaman, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell
2000 Tony Adams Sol Campbell, Martin Keown
2000–2006 David Beckham Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard
2006–2010 John Terry Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham
2010–2011 Rio Ferdinand Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry
2011–2012 John Terry Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Scott Parker
2012–2014 Steven Gerrard Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry
2014–2017 Wayne Rooney Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka, James Milner, Chris Smalling, Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane
2017–2018 Jordan Henderson Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Harry Kane, Eric Dier
2018–present Harry Kane Dean Henderson,[15] Gary Cahill, Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling,[16] Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Marcus Rashford,[17] Kyle Walker,[18] Declan Rice,[19] John Stones,[20] Marc Guéhi,[21]
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Captains by tournament

  • Bold indicates tournament winners
  • Italics indicates tournament hosts
  • Source:[22]
More information Player, Tournament(s) ...
Player Tournament(s)[g]
Billy Wright
Johnny Haynes
Bobby Moore
Kevin Keegan
Mick Mills
Bryan Robson
Gary Lineker
Tony Adams
Alan Shearer
David Beckham
Steven Gerrard
Wayne Rooney
Harry Kane
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Women's team

Captain chronology

  • Bold indicates current captain
  • Italics indicates still-active players
  •    indicates player was captain for matches under the Women's Football Association[h]
More information Tenure, Incumbent ...
Tenure Incumbent Reserve captains[b]
1972–1976 Sheila Parker[27]
1976– Carol Thomas (née McCune)[3]
1983: WFA becomes a "County Association" of The Football Association[28]
–1985 Carol Thomas (née McCune)[3]
1985– Debbie Bampton[25]
1990– Gillian Coultard[6][25]
1993: The team becomes incorporated into The Football Association[29]
–1997 Debbie Bampton[6]
–2000 Gillian Coultard[6]
2000–2001 Mo Marley[6][30]
2001–2002 Tara Proctor[31] Karen Walker,[7] Faye White[7]
2002–2003 Karen Walker[7][32] Mary Phillip[7]
2002–2012 Faye White[7][33][34] Mary Phillip,[7] Kelly Smith,[35] Fara Williams,[7][36] Casey Stoney,[7][37] Rachel Yankey[38]
2012–2014 Casey Stoney[39] Rachel Yankey,[37] Alex Scott,[40] Steph Houghton,[37] Fara Williams,[37] Laura Bassett[37]
2014–2022 Steph Houghton[41] Fara Williams,[37] Karen Bardsley,[37] Jordan Nobbs,[42][43] Jill Scott,[37] Ellen White,[37] Laura Bassett,[37] Lucy Bronze,[44] Keira Walsh,[45] Toni Duggan,[37] Millie Bright,[46][47] Leah Williamson[46]
2022–present Leah Williamson Millie Bright,[48] Ellen White,[49] Steph Houghton,[50][i] Alex Greenwood,[51] Mary Earps,[52] Keira Walsh[53]
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Captains by tournament

  • Bold indicates tournament winners
  • Italics indicates tournament hosts
More information Player, Tournament(s) ...
Player Tournament(s)[g]
Carol Thomas (née McCune)
Debbie Bampton
Gillian Coultard
Debbie Bampton
Gillian Coultard
Mo Marley
Tara Proctor
Faye White
Casey Stoney
Steph Houghton
Leah Williamson
Millie Bright[j]
Leah Williamson
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Captains by appearances as captain

Figures include all recognised matches up to match played 5 July 2026. Only confirmed captaincies of named captains are counted.

The default order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy.

  • Bold indicates permanent captain of England
  • Italics indicates still-active players
  • Sources unless specified:[k][13]
More information #, Player ...
# Player England career Caps as captain Total caps First captaincy
1Harry Kane2015–present9211910 June 2017
2Billy Wright1946–1959901059 October 1948
2Bobby Moore1962–19739010829 May 1963
4Steph Houghton2007–202272[58]12117 January 2014
5Bryan Robson1980–1991659017 November 1982
6David Beckham1996–20095911515 November 2000
7Carol Thomas (née McCune)1976–198549–51[l]56[l]22 May 1976
8Faye White1997–201248[62]907 March 2002
9Leah Williamson2018–present46[63]6717 September 2021
10Gillian Coultard1981–200038+[m]11925 November 1990
10Steven Gerrard2000–20143811431 March 2004
12Alan Shearer1992–200034631 September 1996
12John Terry2003–2012347816 August 2006
14Kevin Keegan1972–1982316324 March 1976
15Debbie Bampton1978–199726+[m]9522 September 1985
16Wayne Rooney2003–20182312014 November 2009
16Emlyn Hughes1969–1980236211 March 1974
18Bob Crompton1902–191422412 March 1903
18Johnny Haynes1954–1962225615 May 1960
20Eddie Hapgood1933–1939203014 November 1934
20Millie Bright2016–present208813 April 2021
22David Platt1989–1996196217 February 1993
22Casey Stoney2000–2017191307 March 2009[n]
24Gary Lineker1984–1992188012 September 1990
25Mary Phillip1995–200817+[m]6517 May 2003
26Norman Bailey1878–1887151912 March 1881
26Jimmy Armfield1959–1966154328 September 1961
26Peter Shilton1970–19901512525 May 1982
26Tony Adams1987–2000156612 October 1994
30Viv Woodward1903–1911142315 February 1908
31G. O. Smith1893–190113–16[d][e]204 April 1896
31George Hardwick1946–1948131328 September 1946
33Roy Goodall1926–1933122531 March 1928
34Sheila Parker1972–19831133[65]18 November 1972
34Fara Williams2001–2019111725 March 2009
36Ray Wilkins1976–1986108422 September 1982
36Stuart Pearce1987–199910788 June 1991
36Jordan Henderson2010–present10908 October 2016
36Keira Walsh2017–present101034 September 2018
40Jack Hill1925–19298112 April 1927
40Gerry Francis1974–19768123 September 1975
40Mick Mills1972–198284213 May 1978
40Michael Owen1998–200888917 April 2002
40Frank Lampard1999–201481069 February 2011
45George Wilson1921–192471222 October 1921
45Terry Butcher1980–199077712 November 1986
45Paul Ince1992–20007539 June 1993
45Rio Ferdinand1997–201178126 March 2008
45Eric Dier2015–202274910 November 2017
50George Male1934–193961918 November 1936
50Alan Ball1965–197567212 March 1975
50Phil Thompson1976–198264222 November 1979
53Percy Walters1885–189051313 March 1886
53Willis Edwards1926–192951622 October 1928
53Ronnie Clayton1955–196053517 October 1959
53Mo Marley1995–20015414 June 2000
53Gary Cahill2010–20185619 October 2015
53Jill Scott2006–2022516127 October 2015
53Lucy Bronze2013–present51481 March 2018
53Harry Maguire2017–present5667 September 2019
61Tinsley Lindley1886–18914134 February 1888
61Stanley Harris1904–19064625 February 1905
61Sam Wadsworth1922–19264922 October 1924
61David Jack1924–1932495 April 1930
61Ernie Blenkinsop1928–19334269 December 1931
61Thomas Cooper1927–193441514 April 1934
61Martin Peters1966–197446719 May 1971
61Tara Proctor1995–200242030 June 2001
61Kelly Smith1995–2014411728 September 2008
70Robert Holmes1888–18953713 March 1893
70Howard Spencer1897–19053614 February 1903
70Arthur Grimsdell1920–1923369 April 1921
70Alfred Bower[o]1923–1927358 December 1924
70Billy Walker1920–193231821 May 1925
70Alfred Strange1930–193332014 May 1931
70Sam Barkas1936–193731823 October 1937
70Alf Ramsey1948–195333215 November 1950
70Ron Flowers1955–196634927 May 1964
70Bobby Charlton1958–1970310615 January 1969
70David V. Watson1974–198236524 April 1981
70Sol Campbell1996–200737324 May 1998
70Karen Walker1988–200338324 February 2002
70Ellen White2010–202231131 July 2017
70Mary Earps2017–20253531 July 2023
70Kyle Walker2011–202639620 November 2023
86Cuthbert Ottaway1872–18742230 November 1872
86Charles Bambridge1879–188721818 February 1882
86John Goodall1888–18982147 February 1891
86Arthur Dunn1883–18922415 March 1892
86George Cotterill1891–18932425 February 1893
86Charles Wreford-Brown1889–18982 or 3[c]418 March 1895
86Jesse Pennington1907–192022515 March 1920
86Charlie Buchan1913–19242614 March 1921
86Basil Patchitt19232221 May 1923
86Frank Swift1946–194921916 May 1948
86Mick Channon1972–197724628 May 1976
86Rachel Yankey1997–2013212929 July 2010[38]
86Laura Bassett2003–20172637 March 2014
86Jordan Nobbs2013–present27111 March 2015
86Joe Hart2008–201727513 November 2015
86Raheem Sterling2012–20222827 June 2019
86 Kieran Trippier 2017–present 2 54 8 October 2020
86Alex Greenwood2014–present211119 February 2023
86Declan Rice2019–present27326 March 2024[p]
105Alexander Morten1873118 March 1873
105Charles W. Alcock1875116 March 1875[q]
105Hubert Heron1873–1878154 March 1876
105William Rawson1875–1877123 March 1877
105Arthur Cursham1880–18841 or 2[r]62 March 1878
105Henry Wace1878–18791 or 2[r]35 April 1879
105Charles Wollaston1874–18801413 March 1880
105Francis Sparks1879–18801315 March 1880
105Jack Hunter1878–18821726 February 1881
105John Hudson18831124 February 1883
105John Brodie1889–1891132 March 1889
105Arthur Walters1885–1890195 April 1890
105Billy Moon1888–1885176 April 1891
105R. Cunliffe Gosling1892–18951 or 2[c]56 April 1895
105William Oakley1895–19011169 March 1901
105Ernest Needham1894–190211618 March 1901
105Reginald Foster1900–1902153 March 1902
105Frank Forman1898–19031922 March 1902
105Stephen Bloomer1895–19071 or 2[f]233 May 1902[f]
105Arthur Knight19191125 October 1919
105Joseph McCall1913–19201523 October 1920
105Ephraim Longworth1920–19231521 May 1921
105Max Woosnam19221113 March 1922
105Graham Doggart1923111 November 1923
105Frank Moss19241512 April 1924
105Claude Ashton[s]19251124 October 1925
105Tommy Lucas1921–19261324 May 1926
105Fred Kean1923–19291921 May 1927
105Jack Barker1934–193611117 October 1936
105Stan Cullis1937–193911224 May 1939
105Alan Mullery1964–19711353 February 1971
105Colin Bell1968–197514823 May 1972
105Trevor Cherry1976–198012731 May 1980
105Ray Clemence1972–198316112 May 1981
105Phil Neal1976–19831502 June 1982
105Peter Beardsley1986–199615913 February 1988
105Mark Wright1984–199614521 May 1991
105David Seaman1988–200317510 September 1997
105Martin Keown1992–200214311 September 2000
105Gareth Barry2000–201215329 March 2011
105Scott Parker2003–201311129 February 2012
105Ashley Cole2001–2014110729 May 2013[t]
105Alex Scott2004–2017114031 October 2013
105Karen Bardsley2005–20221819 March 2015
105Phil Jagielka2008–201614012 October 2015
105James Milner2009–201616129 March 2016
105Chris Smalling2011–201713127 May 2016
105Toni Duggan2012–present1768 November 2018[u]
105Fabian Delph2014–201912015 November 2018
105Marcus Rashford2016–present1726 June 2021
105John Stones2014–present18910 October 2024
105Marc Guéhi2022–present12931 March 2026
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Captains by age

  • Bold indicates permanent captain of England (not necessarily at time of the relevant match/es)

Youngest captains

Players who started as captain at under 25 years of age.[70]

More information #, Player ...
# Player Date of birth First captaincy Age #W #M
Age 20
1Carol Thomas (née McCune)[v] (1955-06-05)5 June 1955 22 May 1976 20 years, 352 days 1 –
Age 21
2Keira Walsh (1997-04-08)8 April 1997 4 September 2018 21 years, 149 days 2 –
Age 22
3 Bobby Moore (1941-04-12)12 April 1941 29 May 1963 22 years, 47 days – 1
4 Jordan Nobbs (1992-12-08)8 December 1992 11 March 2015 22 years, 93 days 3 –
5 Tinsley Lindley (1865-10-27)27 October 1865 4 February 1888 22 years, 100 days – 2
6 Michael Owen (1979-12-14)14 December 1979 17 April 2002 22 years, 124 days – 3
7 Cuthbert Ottaway (1850-07-20)20 July 1850 30 November 1872 22 years, 133 days – 4
8 Jack Hudson (1860-10-11)11 October 1860 24 February 1883 22 years, 136 days – 5
9 William Rawson (1854-10-14)14 October 1854 3 March 1877 22 years, 140 days – 6
10 Percy Walters (1863-09-30)30 September 1863 13 March 1886 22 years, 164 days – 7
11 Stan Cullis (1916-10-25)25 October 1916 24 May 1939 22 years, 211 days – 8
12 Basil Patchitt (1900-08-08)8 August 1900 21 May 1923 22 years, 286 days – 9
13 Billy Moon (1868-06-07)7 June 1868 4 April 1891 22 years, 301 days – 10
Age 23
14 G. O. Smith (1872-11-25)25 November 1872 4 April 1896 23 years, 131 days – 11
15 Bob Crompton (1879-09-26)26 September 1879 2 March 1903 23 years, 157 days – 12
16 Charles Bambridge (1858-07-30)30 July 1858 18 February 1882 23 years, 203 days – 13
17Marcus Rashford (1997-10-31)31 October 1997 6 June 2021 23 years, 218 days – 14
18 Stan Harris (1881-07-19)19 July 1881 25 February 1905 23 years, 221 days – 15
19 Norman Bailey (1857-07-23)23 July 1857 12 March 1881 23 years, 232 days – 16
20 Sol Campbell (1974-09-18)18 September 1974 29 May 1998 23 years, 253 days – 17
21 Gerry Francis (1951-12-06)6 December 1951 3 September 1975 23 years, 271 days – 18
22 Eric Dier (1994-01-15)15 January 1994 10 November 2017 23 years, 299 days – 19
23 Steven Gerrard (1980-05-30)30 May 1980 31 March 2004 23 years, 306 days – 20
24 Harry Kane (1993-07-28)28 July 1993 10 June 2017 23 years, 317 days – 21
25R. E. Foster (1878-04-16)16 April 1878 3 March 1902 23 years, 321 days – 22
26Debbie Bampton[v] (1961-10-07)7 October 1961 22 September 1985 23 years, 350 days 4 –
Age 24
27 Wayne Rooney (1985-10-24)24 October 1985 14 November 2009 24 years, 21 days – 23
28 Faye White (1978-02-02)2 February 1978 7 March 2002 24 years, 33 days 5 –
29 Hubert Heron (1852-01-30)30 January 1852 4 March 1876 24 years, 34 days – 24
30Leah Williamson (1997-03-29)29 March 1997 17 September 2021 24 years, 172 days 6 –
31 Raheem Sterling (1994-12-08)8 December 1994 6 June 2019 24 years, 180 days – 25
32 Billy Wright (1924-02-06)6 February 1924 9 October 1948 24 years, 246 days – 26
33 Claude Ashton (1901-02-19)19 February 1901 24 October 1925 24 years, 247 days – 27
34 Francis Sparks (1855-07-04)4 July 1855 15 March 1880 24 years, 255 days – 28
35 George Cotterill (1868-04-04)4 April 1868 25 February 1893 24 years, 327 days – 29
36Sheila Parker[v][w] 1947 18 November 1972 ~24 years and 11 months[x] 7 –
37 Arthur Cursham (1853-03-14)14 March 1853 2 March 1878 24 years, 353 days – 30
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Oldest captains

Players who started as captain at over 35 years of age.[72]

More information #, Player ...
# Player Date of birth Last captaincy Age #W #M
Age 41+
1Alexander Morten1831 or 1832[73]8 March 1873 41 or 42[73] – 1
Age 40
2 Peter Shilton (1949-09-18)18 September 1949 7 July 1990 40 years, 292 days – 2
Age 36
3 Gillian Coultard (1963-07-22)22 July 1963 13 May 2000 36 years, 296 days 1 –
4 Jesse Pennington (1883-08-23)23 August 1883 10 April 1920 36 years, 231 days – 3
5 Frank Lampard (1978-06-20)20 June 1978 24 June 2014 36 years, 4 days – 4
Age 35
6 Debbie Bampton (1961-10-07)7 October 1961 11 May 1997 35 years, 216 days 2 –
7 Billy Wright (1924-02-06)6 February 1924 28 May 1959 35 years, 111 days – 5
8 Billy Walker (1897-10-29)29 October 1897 7 December 1932 35 years, 39 days – 6
9 Stuart Pearce (1962-04-24)24 April 1962 24 May 1997 35 years, 30 days – 7
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Others

Disputed captains

These players may have officially captained England, but sources are either uncertain or differ.

More information Player, England career ...
Player England career Caps as captain Total caps
Harry Daft1889–18921 or 0[74]5
Vaughan Lodge1894–18960 or 1[d]5
George Raikes1895–18960 or 1[d]4
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Unofficial captains

The following players have never been named, i.e. started a match as, captain, but were given the armband partway through a match after that game's captain was either sent off or substituted. As records for such mid-game changes are not often kept, this list may be incomplete:

More information Player, England career ...
Player England career Date
Gareth Southgate1995–200425 May 2001[75]
Robbie Fowler1996–200227 March 2002[76]
Danny Mills2001–200412 February 2003[77]
Emile Heskey1999–20103 June 2003[8]
Phil Neville1996–20073 June 2003[8]
Jamie Carragher1999–20103 June 2003[8]
David James1997–201028 May 2005[78]
Gary Neville1995–20071 July 2006[79]
Joleon Lescott2007–201326 May 2012[80]
Michael Carrick2001–201515 August 2012[81]
Georgia Stanway2018–present15 November 2022[82]
Rachel Daly2016–present19 February 2023[83]
Katie Zelem2021–present19 February 2023[84]
Alessia Russo 2020–present 29 November 2025
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Amateurs

Main articles: England national amateur football team and Great Britain men's Olympic football team

For a period after the introduction of professionalism, the England team split into two teams that represented the nation internationally, one only including amateur players. This or other amateur English teams also represented Great Britain at the Olympics, when known as "England" in certain early competitions.[y]

More information Tenure, Incumbent ...
Amateur men's teams that have represented England internationally
Tenure Incumbent Team
1900 Henry Haslam Upton Park[85]
1908 Vivian Woodward England amateurs[86]
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Captains of other non-official teams

Before the men's and women's teams each became officially associated, different teams represented them in international tournaments.

More information Tenure, Incumbent ...
Men's teams[87]
Tenure Incumbent Team
1870–1871 Charles W. Alcock England (representative)
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More information Tenure, Incumbent ...
Women's teams
Tenure Incumbent Team
1920 Alice Kell Dick, Kerr Ladies[2][88][89]
1925 Florrie Redford
1933 Ethel Audaer Terry's Ladies[90][91]
1953 Stella Briggs Dick, Kerr Ladies[92]
1957–1966 Doris Ashley Manchester Corinthians/Nomad/All Stars Ladies[25][93][94][95][96][97]
1960 Margaret Griffiths
1969–1970 Sue Lopez British Independents[54][z]
1971 Carol Wilson
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  • Bold indicates tournament winners
More information Player, Tournament(s) ...
Non-official England women's teams' tournament record
Player Tournament(s)[g]
Doris Ashley
  • 1957 European Cup[95]
  • 1960 Torneo Internacional De Futbol Femenino[93][99]
Margaret Griffiths
  • 1960 Torneo Internacional De Futbol Femenino[93][99]
Sue Lopez
Carol Wilson
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Non-official captains by appearances as captain

The following players have never captained England officially, but have started a match as named captain of a team representing England, with the match and/or team not officially recognised:

Only known, confirmed, non-official caps as captain are included.

More information Player, England career ...
Player England career Caps as captain First captaincy Ref(s)
Alice Kell19208+~April 1920 [aa]
Doris Ashley1957–19665+2 November 1957 [95][101]
Carol Wilson197142 June 1971 [54]
Sue Lopez1969–19702+1 November 1969 [54]
Florrie Redford19251+~June 1925 [89]
Margaret Griffiths19601+April 1960 [93]
Stella Briggs1952–19531+23 July 1953 [92]
Stanley Briggs1899123 November 1899 [102]
Ethel Audaer193319 August 1933 [90]
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Others by age

  • Bold indicates permanent captain of England (not necessarily at time of the relevant match/es)

Unofficial young captaincies

More information Player, Date of birth ...
Player Date of birth First unofficial captaincy Age
Age 18
Carol Wilson[v] June 1952 2 June 1971[ab] ~18 years and 11 months
Age 20
Casey Stoney (1982-05-13)13 May 1982 25 February 2003[n] 20 years, 288 days
Age 21
Alice Kell (1898-06-24)24 June 1898 ~April 1920[aa] ~21 years and 9 months
Age 23
Georgia Stanway (1999-01-03)3 January 1999 15 November 2022 23 years, 316 days
Age 24
Sue Lopez[v] (1945-09-01)1 September 1945 1 November 1969[ab] 24 years, 61 days
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Unofficial old captaincies

More information Player, Date of birth ...
Player Date of birth Last unofficial captaincy Age
Doris Ashley ~1923[101][104] 17 July 1966[94] ~42
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Notes

  1. [a]
    In 2004, after the unofficial captaincies of Wilson (1971) and Stoney (2003), and after Thomas' WFA career as captain (1976–85), The Guardian named Bobby Moore as "still the youngest ever England captain".[4]
  2. [b]
    Reserve captains are players that have taken the captain's armband on a one-off match basis when the incumbent permanent captain is unavailable. Unlike unofficial captaincies the player is given the responsibility prior to the game and is officially recognised by the FA as having officially captained England, whereas unofficial captains receive the armband part way through a match due to the substitution or the receiving of a red card by the captain.[14]
  3. [c]
    Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 12 March 1894. It was either Charles Wreford-Brown or Cunliffe Gosling.
  4. [d]
    The captaincy for England vs Ireland, 7 March 1896 is disputed between G. O. Smith (13 confirmed captaincies), and George Raikes and Vaughan Lodge, neither of whom had captained England in another match.
  5. [e]
    The match on 16 March 1896 may have been captained by Gilbert (G. O.) Smith.
  6. [f]
    Bloomer captained two successive games in 1902, with the first, on 5 April 1902, seeing the 1902 Ibrox disaster occur. This match was, afterwards, declared null and void by the Football Association.
  7. [g]
    Tournaments for which the player has been officially named as captain, not including tournaments where they have stepped up as a reserve captain or have been otherwise substituted for a match/es. Only tournaments at continental scale or wider.
  8. [h]
    The Women's Football Association fielded their first England team in 1972, and was the governing body of women's football in England until the Football Association incorporated the team in 1993, marking a change in the formal organisation of it.[23] Few of the international matches contested by the team were considered official.[24] In 2019, women's sports history researcher Jean Williams found that "many of the games before 1993 were not recognised as official internationals, [...] and, though recognised by the FA with a virtual cap as representative games, many women players do not have more than one or two caps for their country as a result."[25] The WFA had so little funding that one woman hand-stitched caps for players.[25] The FA announced in 2022 that it would seek to recognise all former women's internationals.[26]
  9. [i]
    Houghton was named a vice-captain but did not wear the armband under Williamson.
  10. [j]
    Vice-captain Bright was formally interim captain for the tournament due to a long term injury to Leah Williamson.
  11. [k]
    Women's matches (Englandfootballonline.com indices):[54][6][7][37][47]
  12. [l]
    Contemporary to the end of her career, the Guinness Book of Records listed Thomas with 49 caps as captain from 56 overall international caps,[59] which it repeated in every edition through 1990.[60] When Thomas was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2021, they reported 51 caps as captain, still from 56 international caps.[61] Thomas has stated that the only match she did not captain between first taking the armband and retiring was a 17 August 1985 game against Wales.[25]
  13. [m]
    Some teamsheets from the appropriate period are unavailable, incomplete, or do not indicate captain.
  14. [n]
    Casey Stoney was first handed the captain's armband on an unofficial basis on 25 February 2003 (age 20) when captain Karen Walker was substituted off;[64] this captaincy is not counted as she was not named/did not start as captain. She first made an appearance as a named captain, starting the match as captain (as reserve for Faye White), on 7 March 2009 (age 26).
  15. [o]
    Alfred Bower was the last amateur player to captain England.
  16. [p]
    Captained amidst injury absences and on the occasion of his 50th cap.[19]
  17. [q]
    Alcock had earlier captained England in the officially-unrecognised representative matches.
  18. [r]
    Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 18 January 1879. It was either Arthur Cursham or Henry Wace.
  19. [s]
    Claude Ashton was the last player to be appointed captain for his solitary England appearance.
  20. [t]
    Cole was never a formal reserve or vice captain, but started with the armband as a gesture to celebrate his 100th cap. The match was actually Cole's 102nd cap, and there was reported surprise that he accepted the offer, as he had previously scorned the captaincy.[66]
  21. [u]
    Duggan took the place of captain Steph Houghton so that Houghton could defer her 100th England cap by a match to play it at home rather than away. Other recent stand-in captains were unavailable — Keira Walsh was injured,[67] Lucy Bronze also did not travel, and Jordan Nobbs was an unused substitute[68] — and manager Phil Neville said Duggan's importance in the team was cause for her selection.[69]
  22. [v]
    WFA era
  23. [w]
    The FA announced in 2022 that it would award caps to the 1972 first official women's team, including captain Parker.[26]
  24. [x]
    Parker was appointed captain in 1972 aged 24.[65] She was 74 on 31 December 2021.[71] Provided she was 24 at the time of her first match on 18 November 1972, Parker must have been born in November or December 1947.
  25. [y]
    Most of the time, the Amateurs were known as "England Amateurs". Those captains, as well as those representing teams known as "Great Britain", including recent Great Britain Olympic; past United Kingdom; and all British Universiade teams, are not included.
  26. [z]
    Women were banned from top flight football in England until 1972, with the early pseudo-international British Independents teams specifically disavowed and blacklisted.[98]
  27. [aa]
    Kell was captain for the England-France series in 1920 (four in England, four in France). The third match was played at Hyde Road in Manchester[2] on 6 May 1920.[103]
  28. [ab]
    Wilson and Lopez' captaincies, which were not authorised and occurred while women's football was still banned in England, are not recognised by any official body.

References

External links

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