Deena Rahman

Deena Rahman
Personal information
Full name Deena Abdel Rahman
Date of birth (1983-02-23) 23 February 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Fulham, England
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Fulham
Arsenal
Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2006 Fulham
2008 Wadi Degla
International career‡
1998–2002 England U19 18
2011– Bahrain 40 (23)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:45, 23 October 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:45, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

Deena Abdel Rahman (Arabic: دينا عبدالرحمن; born 23 February 1983) is a football coach and midfielder. She has represented the England women's national under-19 football team and the Bahrain women's national football team. At club level she was formerly a professional with Fulham.

Club career

Rahman began playing football with Fulham at seven years old, initially as the only girl in the club's boys' youth system. When the women's and girls' section was reinstated shortly afterwards, she transferred to the female youth teams.[1]

Following one season with the Arsenal Academy at the under-14 level, Rahman returned to Fulham and joined the first team squad. In 2000, when Fulham became the first full-time professional women's football club in Europe, Rahman was one of six existing players to be kept on.[2]

She scored in a 7–1 win over Birmingham City in the 2001–02 final of the FA Women's Premier League Cup.[3] Fulham signed a number of strong and experienced players which meant Rahman was not always first choice.[4] She remained with the club after they lost their professional status in 2003, but she was disrupted by an ankle injury and then the club was disbanded altogether in 2006.[5]

Rahman moved to Egypt at her father's suggestion and played for Wadi Degla for one year, before she sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury and returned to England for treatment.[6]

International career

At 15 years old Rahman was called-up to the England women's national under-18 football team. She made her debut against the Netherlands in 1998[7] and went on to win 18 caps, playing in two editions of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship.[4]

In 2011, Rahman agreed to switch her international eligibility to Bahrain women's national football team. She had trained with the team to regain her fitness after moving to the country the previous year. She was called-up for the WAFF Women's Championship in 2011.[5]

By May 2017 Rahman had scored 23 goals in 40 appearances for Bahrain.[1]

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 3 October 2011 Zayed Bin Sultan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates  Iraq 9–0 12–0 2011 WAFF Women's Championship
2. 26 May 2013 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Kyrgyzstan 1–0 4–1 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
3. 3–1
4. 7 April 2017 Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan  United Arab Emirates 1–1 1–1 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
5. 12 April 2017  Iraq 1–0 4–0

Personal life

Rahman was born in Fulham[4] to an Egyptian father, Maher, and an English mother, Dawn.[5] She was among the first female members of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) and studied a Sports Science degree with their assistance.[8]

In 2012 Rahman married Paul Shipwright.[9] They have run a football coaching business, Tekkers Academy, in Bahrain since 2015. Rahman holds five Guinness World Records as a result of her charity work.[4]

Honours

Fulham

References

  1. ^ a b Rahman, Deena (2 May 2017). "Player Profile | Deena Rahman, Bahrain". Equal Playing Field. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ Jon Henderson (13 August 2000). "PREMIERSHIP 2000–01: End of one era and a new one for women: Making the league is a job for the girls". The Observer.
  3. ^ Halpin, Jo (12 April 2002). "Cup victory for women". News Shopper. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d McNamee, Kathleen (4 January 2021). "Rahman's mission: smash Guinness world records and challenge soccer's gender equality problem". ESPN. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Al Khatib-Camille, Mai (21–27 September 2011). "Deena's delight". Gulf Weekly. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Deena Rahman's love of special challenges". FIFA. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Deena Rahman". Fulham F.C. Archived from the original on 3 April 2003. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Coaching: The New Normal?". Professional Footballers Association. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Shipwright and Rahman quit Arsenal school". Gulf Weekly. 11–15 March 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2021.