Marissa Callaghan
Northern Irish footballer
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Marissa James Callaghan MBE (born 2 September 1985) is a Northern Irish football midfielder who plays for Cliftonville Ladies and formerly for the Northern Ireland national team
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Marissa Callaghan (center) in a match with Sweden (2005) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marissa James Callaghan | ||
| Date of birth | 2 September 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Belfast, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Cliftonville | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Newington Girls | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2025 | Cliftonville | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010–2025 | Northern Ireland | 91 | (9) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:55, 13 July 2022 (UTC) | |||
Early career
Callaghan started playing football at 13 for the Newington Girls (now known as Cliftonville Ladies).[1] After this, she went to university in the United States on a football scholarship.[2] She returned to Northern Ireland in 2005 and started playing for Cliftonville again. She graduated with an advanced certificate in sports coaching from the University of Ulster in 2017.[2] As a result, she also volunteered as a coach for Cliftonville Ladies.[3] Later she became their academy director.[3]
With Northern Ireland
Callaghan made her international debut for the Northern Ireland women's national under-19 football team in 2002.[4] She made her debut for Northern Ireland in 2010.[4] In 2016, Callaghan was awarded the Northern Ireland Women's Football Association Women's Personality of the Year award.[1] A year later she was the tournament ambassador for the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship being held in Northern Ireland.[1]
Callaghan was part of the squad that was called up to the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.[5] She also captained the Northern Ireland team at Euro 2022.[6]
International goals
- Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4. | 9 March 2015 | Umag 4, Umag, Croatia |  Croatia | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2015 Istria Cup |
| 5. | 3 June 2016 | Solitude, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Georgia | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying |
| 6. | 3–0 | |||||
| 7. | 13 April 2021 | Seaview, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Ukraine | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying play-offs |
| 8. | 17 September 2021 | Inver Park, Larne, Northern Ireland |  Luxembourg | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 9. | 21 September 2021 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Latvia | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
Career
After leaving university, Callaghan started working full-time in 2010 as a women's football community coach.[7] In 2016, Callaghan was selected as a women's football ambassador for the Irish Football Association.[8] Following this, she worked with Northern Ireland national football team captain Steven Davis to promote participation in women's youth football.[9]
Personal life
Callaghan is a Roman Catholic and has discussed representing Northern Ireland and the need of a national anthem that could represent a common identity to both Catholics and Protestants.[10] She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to Association Football and to the community in Northern Ireland.[11] She is married to her partner Paula and they have one son together.[12]
