{{short description|Jamaican footballer (born 1992)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Use British English|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Drew Spence | image = Drew_Spence.png | image_size = | caption = Spence in 2022 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|10|23|df=y}} | fullname = | birth_place = [[London]], England | height = 1.65m | position = [[Midfielder]] | currentclub = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women|Tottenham Hotspur]] | clubnumber = 24 | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = [[Arsenal L.F.C.|Arsenal]] | youthyears2 = | youthclubs2 = [[Fulham L.F.C.|Fulham]] | years1 = 2008–2022 | clubs1 = [[Chelsea L.F.C.|Chelsea]] | caps1 = 147 | goals1 = 20<!-- Soccerway only has stats from 2011 onwards --> | years2 = 2022– | clubs2 = [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women|Tottenham Hotspur]] | caps2 = 72 | goals2 = 8 | nationalyears1 = 2015 | nationalteam1 = [[England women's national football team|England]] | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | nationalyears2 = 2021– | nationalteam2 = [[Jamaica women's national football team|Jamaica]] | nationalcaps2 = 27 | nationalgoals2 = 4 | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Country|{{fbw|Jamaica}}}} {{Medal|Comp|[[CONCACAF W Championship]]}} {{Medal|3rd|[[2022 CONCACAF W Championship|2022 Mexico]]|}} | club-update = 15:23, 17 May 2026 (UTC) | ntupdate = 09:22, April 19, 2026 (UTC) }}
'''Drew Spence''' (born 23 October 1992) is a professional [[footballer]] who plays as a [[midfielder]] for [[Women's Super League]] club [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women|Tottenham Hotspur]]. Born in England she played for the [[England women's national football team|England national football team]] in 2015, and as of 2021, represents [[Jamaica women's national football team|Jamaica]].
==Club career==
=== Chelsea === Chelsea and England teammate [[Gilly Flaherty]] recalled playing alongside Spence in the [[Arsenal L.F.C.|Arsenal]] Centre of Excellence.<ref name="onebyone">{{cite news|last1=Flaherty|first1=Gilly|authorlink1=Gilly Flaherty|title=Chelsea Ladies One by One|url=http://www.chelsealadiesfc.com/news/chelsea_ladies_one_by_one_part_two.html|access-date=24 October 2015|publisher=[[Chelsea L.F.C.]]|date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120070528/http://www.chelsealadiesfc.com/news/chelsea_ladies_one_by_one_part_two.html|archive-date=20 November 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Spence progressed to [[Fulham L.F.C.|Fulham]]'s youth team, before signing for [[Chelsea L.F.C.|Chelsea]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Randall|first1=James|title=Drew: Let's keep the Wolf from the door|url=http://www.theleaguepaper.com/latest-news/2905/drew-lets-keep-the-wolf-from-the-door/|access-date=19 November 2015|publisher=The Football League Paper|date=12 November 2015|archive-date=20 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120075208/http://www.theleaguepaper.com/latest-news/2905/drew-lets-keep-the-wolf-from-the-door/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Spence and Chelsea reached the [[FA Women's Cup]] final for the first time in [[2012 FA Women's Cup Final|2012]], but were eventually beaten by [[Birmingham City L.F.C.|Birmingham City]] in a [[penalty shoot-out (association football)|penalty shootout]] after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw. Spence's effort was saved by [[Rebecca Spencer|Becky Spencer]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/shootout-has-unhappy-ending-for-chelsea-ladies-7791442.html|title=Shoot-out has unhappy ending for Chelsea Ladies|access-date=2012-05-27|date=2012-05-27|work=[[The Independent]]|first=John|last=Nisbet|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925211431/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/shootout-has-unhappy-ending-for-chelsea-ladies-7791442.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, Spence won her first ever major trophy, in the [[2015 FA Women's Cup Final]] at [[Wembley Stadium]]. Spence secured her first [[FA WSL]] title as her team beat [[Sunderland A.F.C. Ladies|Sunderland]] 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the League and Cup "[[Double (association football)|double]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Garry|first1=Tom|title=WSL 1: Chelsea Ladies 4–0 Sunderland Ladies|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34372478|access-date=8 October 2015|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|date=4 October 2015|archive-date=6 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006042530/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34372478|url-status=live}}</ref> At the end of the season Spence signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ladies Preview: Spence Seeks Solidity|url=http://www.chelsealadiesfc.com/news/ladies_preview_spence_seeks_solidity.html|access-date=19 November 2015|publisher=[[Chelsea L.F.C.]]|date=11 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120053732/http://www.chelsealadiesfc.com/news/ladies_preview_spence_seeks_solidity.html|archive-date=20 November 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
During a 5–0 thrashing by [[Arsenal W.F.C.|Arsenal]] in October 2018, Spence left [[Kim Little]] nursing a broken leg with what Arsenal's website described as a "heavy tackle". The match officials were criticised for failing to send off Spence, who left Little ruled out for around ten weeks.<ref name="fibula">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45879266 |title=Kim Little: Lucy Bronze criticises officials as Arsenal's Scotland midfielder fractures leg |publisher=BBC Sport |date=17 October 2018 |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016225941/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45879266 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020 Spence signed a new contract that saw her stay with Chelsea until June 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-11 |title=Spence signs contract extension |url=https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/spence-signs-contract-extension |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Chelsea F.C. |language=en-gb |archive-date=20 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720023334/https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/spence-signs-contract-extension |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Tottenham Hotspur === In June 2022, Spence signed a two-year contract with [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women|Tottenham Hotspur]], leaving Chelsea as their longest serving player.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2022/june/drew-spence-completes-move-to-spurs-women/|title=Drew Spence completes move|website=www.tottenhamhotspur.com|date=20 June 2022|accessdate=20 June 2022|archive-date=20 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820052707/https://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/2022/june/drew-spence-completes-move-to-spurs-women/|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 10 December 2025 it was announced Spence had signed a long-term contract with the club.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-10 |title=Spence signs long term contract extension at Tottenham |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c6230dlg6nlo |access-date=2025-12-11 |website=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==International career== Spence was born in England to a Jamaican father and English mother.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20211024/chelseas-spence-banking-experience|title=Chelsea’s Spence banking on experience|date=24 October 2021|website=jamaica-gleaner.com}}</ref> National coach [[Mark Sampson]] gave Spence her first senior call up in October 2015, in an understrength squad for the [[2015 Yongchuan International Tournament]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lavery|first1=Glenn|title=Laura Coombs determined to grab her England chance in China|url=http://www.thefa.com/news/england/womens/2015/oct/cfa-international-womens-tournament-china-australia-laura-coombs-chelsea|access-date=24 October 2015|publisher=[[The Football Association]]|date=21 October 2015|archive-date=25 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225010730/https://www.thefa.com/news/2015/oct/20/cfa-international-womens-tournament-china-australia-laura-coombs-chelsea|url-status=live}}</ref> She won her first England [[Cap (sports)|cap]] on 23 October 2015, as a [[Substitute (association football)|substitute]] in England's 2–1 defeat to [[China women's national football team|China]] in [[Chongqing]].<ref>{{cite news|title=England women beaten by China despite Eniola Aluko goal|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34607337|access-date=23 October 2015|publisher=[[BBC Sport]]|date=23 October 2015|archive-date=22 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022232500/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34607337|url-status=live}}</ref>
In September 2017, Spence's Chelsea team-mate [[Eniola Aluko]] was pursuing allegations of racial discrimination against [[The FA]] through the pages of ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper. Spence was drawn into the controversy when she was revealed as the previously-anonymous "The Player" who was said to have been "upset and offended" by Mark Sampson on the trip to China.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Daniel |title=FA may launch new Mark Sampson inquiry after Drew Spence intervention |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/14/fa-mark-sampson-inquiry-drew-spence-eni-aluko |access-date=20 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |date=14 September 2017}}</ref>
In November 2022, Spence was recognized by [[The Football Association]] as one of the England national team's legacy players, and as the 192nd women's player to be capped by England.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/Legacy?tab=Players |title=ENGLAND PLAYER LEGACY AND RESULTS ARCHIVE |date=18 November 2022 |access-date=24 June 2023 |publisher=[[The Football Association]] |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117235922/https://www.englandfootball.com/england/womens-senior-team/Legacy?tab=Players |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lacey-Hatton |first=Jack |date=2022-11-18 |title=Lionesses introduce 'legacy numbers' for players past and present |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/lionesses-introduce-legacy-numbers-players-28529161 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=[[Daily Mirror|Mirror]] |language=en |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110000207/https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/lionesses-introduce-legacy-numbers-players-28529161 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Spence qualified for [[Jamaica women's national football team|Jamaica]] through her heritage and made her debut on 24 October 2021.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://twitter.com/jff_football/status/1452364868334534666| title = Four International debuts for the #ReggaeGirlz! Murray, Bailey, Spence and Gayle all start ✊🏿 . #ReggaeGirlz #JAMvCR #Rooted2Rise #ReggaeGirlzFoundation #StrikeHard #JFF_Football| last = Official J. F. F.| via = [[Twitter]]| access-date = 25 October 2021| archive-date = 25 October 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160909/https://twitter.com/jff_football/status/1452364868334534666| url-status = live}}</ref>
== Career statistics == === Club === {{updated|match played 16 May 2026}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Drew Spence |url=https://www.stamford-bridge.com/player.php?id=5993&surname=Spence&firstname=Drew |website=Stamford Bridge.com |access-date=4 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Drew Spence |url=https://www.soccerway.com/player/spence-drew/d2mdzPDc/ |website=Soccerway |access-date=4 March 2026}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Women's FA Cup]]}} !colspan="2"|League cup{{efn|Includes [[FA Women's Premier League Cup]], [[Women's League Cup]]}} !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- | rowspan="15" |[[Chelsea F.C. Women|Chelsea]] |2008–09 |[[FA Women's Premier League]] |0||0||1||1||0||0|| colspan="2" |—||1||1 |- |2009–10 |FA Women's Premier League |10||3||2||1||1||0|| colspan="2" |—||13||4 |- |2011 |[[Women's Super League]] |9||1||1||0||1||0|| colspan="2" |—||11||1 |- |2012 |Women's Super League |6||0||2||0||2||0|| colspan="2" |—||10||0 |- |2013 |Women's Super League |11||1||1||0||0||0|| colspan="2" |—||12||1 |- |2014 |Women's Super League |10||0||0||0||3||2|| colspan="2" |—||13||2 |- |2015 |Women's Super League |13||2||4||0||5||0||3||0||25||2 |- |2016 |Women's Super League |11||2||4||1||1||0||1||0||17||3 |- |2017 |Women's Super League |7||4||3||3|| colspan="2" |—|| colspan="2" |—||10||7 |- |2017–18 |Women's Super League |14||2||4||1||5||3||7||1||30||7 |- |[[2018–19 Chelsea F.C. Women season|2018–19]] |Women's Super League |17||1||3||1||6||6||7||3||33||11 |- |[[2019–20 Chelsea F.C. Women season|2019–20]] |Women's Super League |15||3||2||2||6||2|| colspan="2" |—||23||7 |- |[[2020–21 Chelsea F.C. Women season|2020–21]] |Women's Super League |8||0||2||3||2||0||3||0||15||3 |- |[[2021–22 Chelsea F.C. Women season|2021–22]] |Women's Super League |16||1||3||1||3||0||1||0||23||2 |- !colspan="2" |Total !147!!20!!32!!14!!35!!13!!22!!4!!236!!51 |- | rowspan="5" |[[Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women|Tottenham Hotspur]] |[[2022–23 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women season|2022–23]] |Women's Super League |22||3||2||1||4||1|| colspan="2" |—||28||5 |- |[[2023–24 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women season|2023–24]] |Women's Super League |12||2||2||0||1||0|| colspan="2" |—||15||2 |- |[[2024–25 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women season|2024–25]] |Women's Super League |19||3||0||0||2||0|| colspan="2" |—||21||3 |- |[[2025–26 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women season|2025–26]] |Women's Super League |19||0||2||1||3||1|| colspan="2" |—||24||2 |- ! colspan="2" |Total !72!!8!!6!!2!!10!!2!!0!!0!!88!!12 |- ! colspan="3" |Career total !219!!28!!38!!16!!45!!15!!22!!4!!324!!63 |} {{notelist}}
=== 1International === {{updated|match played 18 April 2026}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Drew Spence |url=https://www.soccerway.com/player/spence-drew/d2mdzPDc/ |website=Soccerway |access-date=4 March 2026}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year |- !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- | rowspan="6" |[[Jamaica women's national football team|Jamaica]] |2021||2||1 |- |2022||7||1 |- |2023||8||0 |- |2024||5||2 |- |2025||1||0 |- |2026||3||0 |- ! colspan="2" |Total!!27!!4 |}
:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Spence goal.''
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Drew Spence |- !scope="col"|No. !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |- |style="text-align:center"|1 |22 October 2021 |[[Chase Stadium]], [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], [[USA]] |{{fbw|CRC}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |[[Exhibition match|Friendly]] |- |style="text-align:center"|2 |11 July 2022 |[[Estadio BBVA]], [[Guadalupe, Nuevo León|Guadalupe]], [[Mexico]] |{{fbw|HAI}} |style="text-align:center"|4–0 |style="text-align:center"|4–0 |[[2022 CONCACAF W Championship]] |- |style="text-align:center"|3 |26 September 2023 |[[BMO Field]], [[Toronto]], [[Canada]] |{{fbw|CAN}} |style="text-align:center"|1–0 |style="text-align:center"|1–2 |[[Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification (CONCACAF play-off)|CONCACAF Olympic Play-in]] |- |style="text-align:center"|4 |2 December 2024 |[[Catherine Hall Sports Complex]], [[Montego Bay]], [[Jamaica]] |{{fbw|RSA}} |style="text-align:center"|2–1 |style="text-align:center"|3–2 |Friendly |- |}
==Personal life== Spence's brother [[Lewwis Spence]] is also a professional footballer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/uk-sport/19322143.spence-siblings-complete-wembley-dream-hornchurch-skipper-lewwis-follows-drews-footsteps/|title=Spence siblings complete Wembley dream as Hornchurch skipper Lewwis follows in Drew's footsteps|newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|date=22 May 2021|archive-date=18 October 2021|access-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018172904/https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/uk-sport/19322143.spence-siblings-complete-wembley-dream-hornchurch-skipper-lewwis-follows-drews-footsteps/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Spence spoke on a podcast in 2020 about being part of the LGBT+ community.<ref>{{cite web |title=EP 54. Are There ACTUALLY Many Lesbians In Sports? ... Ft. @_spence23 |url=https://music.amazon.com/es-co/podcasts/8998a263-5be7-4d4e-821a-95951fea1a06/episodes/c1835a75-6f5d-4869-a21e-1aff994ce6c6/two-twos-podcast-ep-54-are-there-actually-many-lesbians-in-sports-ft-a_spence23 |website=Amazon Music |publisher=Two Twos Podcast |access-date=12 June 2024 |date=8 December 2020}}</ref>
== Honours == '''Chelsea'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Drew Spence Profile |url=https://gh.soccerway.com/players/drew-spence/133396/ |access-date=2 November 2022 |website=Soccerway |archive-date=2 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102225937/https://gh.soccerway.com/players/drew-spence/133396/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[FA Women's Super League]] (5): [[2015 FA WSL|2015]], [[2017–18 FA WSL|2017–18]], [[2019–20 FA WSL|2019–20]], [[2020–21 FA WSL|2020–21]], [[2021–22 FA WSL|2021–22]] * [[FA WSL Spring Series]] (1): 2017 * [[Women's FA Cup]] (4): [[2014–15 FA Women's Cup|2014–15]], [[2017–18 FA Women's Cup|2017–18]], [[2020–21 Women's FA Cup|2020–21]], [[2021–22 Women's FA Cup|2021–22]] * [[FA Women's League Cup]] (2): [[2019–20 FA Women's League Cup|2019–20]], [[2020–21 FA Women's League Cup|2020–21]] * [[Women's FA Community Shield]] (1): [[2020 Women's FA Community Shield|2020]]
'''Individual''' * [[CONCACAF W Championship]] Best XI: [[2022 CONCACAF W Championship|2022]]<ref name="2022BestXI">{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2022 |title=Dumornay, Lavelle and Shaw headline CMU20 Best XI |url=https://www.concacaf.com/women-s-championship/news/dumornay-lavelle-and-shaw-headline-cwc22-best-xi/ |access-date=November 2, 2022 |website=[[CONCACAF]] |language=en |archive-date=2 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102090346/https://www.concacaf.com/women-s-championship/news/dumornay-lavelle-and-shaw-headline-cwc22-best-xi/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{Twitter}} * [https://www.chelseafc.com/teams/chelsea-ladies/player-profiles/drew-spence.html Drew Spence] at [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea FC]] * [http://www.thefa.com/england/all-teams/players?p=347437 Drew Spence profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823020332/https://www.thefa.com/England/All-Teams/Players?p=347437 |date=23 August 2012 }} at [[the Football Association]] *[https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/03/11/spence-signs-contract-extension?cardIndex=0-0&fbclid=IwAR2qijJ8E075WfyZqQpkRcVltsXrCZolb_U5OsiLXPemFnWW622pPrfUVm8 Drew Spence news] at [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea FC]]
{{Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women squad}} {{Navboxes |bg = #FED100 |fg = #006000 |bordercolor = black |title = Jamaica squads |list1 = {{Jamaica squad 2022 CONCACAF W Championship}} {{Jamaica squad 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup}} }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Drew}} [[Category:1992 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Dual internationalists (women's football)]] [[Category:Jamaican women's footballers]] [[Category:21st-century Jamaican sportswomen]] [[Category:Women's association football midfielders]] [[Category:Jamaica women's international footballers]] [[Category:Footballers from London]] [[Category:English women's footballers]] [[Category:Arsenal W.F.C. players]] [[Category:English LGBTQ footballers]] [[Category:Jamaican lesbians]] [[Category:LGBTQ people from London]] [[Category:English lesbian sportswomen]] [[Category:Fulham F.C. Women players]] [[Category:Chelsea F.C. Women players]] [[Category:Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women players]] [[Category:FA Women's National League players]] [[Category:Women's Super League players]] [[Category:England women's under-23 international footballers]] [[Category:England women's international footballers]] [[Category:Jamaican people of English descent]] [[Category:English people of Jamaican descent]] [[Category:Sportspeople of Jamaican descent]] [[Category:Black British sportswomen]] [[Category:2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players]] [[Category:21st-century English sportswomen]] [[Category:2022 CONCACAF W Championship players]]