Niamh Fahey and Rachel Furness named captain and vice-captain at Liverpool

Additional reporting from Joshua Bunting

Republic of Ireland defender Niamh Fahey has been named as the captain of Liverpool’s women’s team while Northern ireland international Rachel Furness has been made vice-captain.. 

Fahey, who is now in her third season at the club after signing a new contract this summer, gave her thoughts after being handed the captaincy 

"it’s “beyond my wildest dreams," Fahey said.

“I’m going to embody the spirit of the club through my captaincy and bring out the values of a Liverpool player."

Her captaincy comes after Liverpool’s previous captain, Sophie Bradley-Auckland, is unable to join the team as doing so would put residents of her family-run nursing home at risk of contracting COVID-19. 

“It’s a very unselfish decision from Sophie to put the care home and the vulnerable people there first. That’s the type of person she is,” Fahey said.

“We’re going to miss her massively but we know, respect and are proud of her decision.”

Fahey joined Liverpool in 2018 off the back of spells with Arsenal and Chelsea.

She is one of the most decorated players of the Liverpool team, having won 3 FA WSL, 5 FA WSL, 2 FA Women’s Premier League Cups and 2 FA Women's Premier League National Division titles. 



The Galway native started her career at Salthill Devon in 2000 before joining Galway WFC for a brief time in 2007. Fahey has been an Irish international for over 13 years, earning her first cap in a 1-1 draw against Portugal in 2007. Since then, she has earned over 90 caps. 

Liverpool Women’s manager, Vicky Jensen, spoke about Fahey after the announcement.

“In Niamh, you have someone leading the team who loves the club as much as I do, she knows the power of the badge and the expectation from our fans.

“This season is going to be full of pressure and Niamh will be able to handle that pressure, wearing the badge with pride and leading us in the right direction."

Liverpool kick-off their season with a game against Durham Women FC in the FA Women’s Championship on Sunday September 6th. 

Northern Ireland International Rachel Furness has been named as Liverpool's vice- captain heading into the FA Women's Championship 2020/21 season.



So far, Furness has netted 26 goals for Northern Ireland, including one last time out in the green jersey against Pinatar Cup winners Scotland in March.

Furness joined Liverpool in January and before the Coronavirus pandemic ended the Women's Super League season scored four goals in four games. 

Liverpool were then to be relegated on a points-per-game basis that saw Chelsea leap frog Manchester City at the top of the table and take the title. 

The midfielder who can also play as a number 9 spent the first part of 2019/20 on loan at Tottenham from Reading before making the permanent move to Liverpool. 

During her spell in north London she played a part in the record breaking attendance as Spurs and Arsenal met in front of 38,000 spectators in November. 

Furness has also had spells with Sunderland and Newcastle in addition to a short stint with Grindavik in Iceland back in 2010.

The Reds start their new FA Women's Championship season on Sunday September 6 at home to Durham. 

Vicky Jepson's side have had several friendlies so far beating top flight opposition Reading and Brighton and Hove Albion. 

“It’s a great honour and shows the belief the management have in myself as a player and a person,” Furness said following the club’s statement.

“I’m looking forward to the responsibility and using my experiences to get the best out of the team this season as well as push myself to be even better."