Drew Spence (born 23 October 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Women's Super League club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in England she played for the England national football team in 2015, and as of 2021, represents Jamaica.
Club career Chelsea Chelsea and England teammate Gilly Flaherty recalled playing alongside Spence in the Arsenal Centre of Excellence. Spence progressed to Fulham's youth team, before signing for Chelsea in 2008.
Spence and Chelsea reached the FA Women's Cup final for the first time in 2012, but were eventually beaten by Birmingham City in a penalty shootout after twice taking the lead in a 2–2 draw. Spence's effort was saved by Becky Spencer. 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 4–0 in October 2015 to secure the League and Cup "double". At the end of the season Spence signed a new two-year contract with Chelsea.
During a 5–0 thrashing by 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. In 2020 Spence signed a new contract that saw her stay with Chelsea until June 2022.
Tottenham Hotspur In June 2022, Spence signed a two-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur, leaving Chelsea as their longest serving player.
On 10 December 2025 it was announced Spence had signed a long-term contract with the club.
On 22 August 2026, Spence was named as Tottenham's captain.
International career England Spence was born in England to a Jamaican father and English mother. National coach Mark Sampson gave Spence her first senior call up in October 2015, in an understrength squad for the 2015 Yongchuan International Tournament. She won her first and only England cap on 23 October 2015, as a substitute in England's 2–1 defeat to China in Chongqing.
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.
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.
Jamaica Spence qualified for Jamaica through her heritage and made her debut on 24 October 2021. At the 2023 Women's World Cup, Spence featured for Jamaica as they reached the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsChelsea2008–09FA Women's Premier League001100—112009–10FA Women's Premier League1032110—1342011Women's Super League911010—1112012Women's Super League602020—1002013Women's Super League1111000—1212014Women's Super League1000032—1322015Women's Super League1324050302522016Women's Super League1124110101732017Women's Super League7433——1072017–18Women's Super League1424153713072018–19Women's Super League17131667333112019–20Women's Super League1532262—2372020–21Women's Super League802320301532021–22Women's Super League161313010232Total147203214351322423651Tottenham Hotspur2022–23Women's Super League2232141—2852023–24Women's Super League1222010—1522024–25Women's Super League1930020—2132025–26Women's Super League1902131—2422026–27Women's Super League200000—20Total74862102009012Career total221283816451522432663
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsJamaica202121202271202380202452202510202630Total274
Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Spence goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Drew SpenceNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition122 October 2021Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US1–01–0Friendly211 July 2022Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe, Mexico4–04–02022 CONCACAF W Championship326 September 2023BMO Field, Toronto, Canada1–01–2CONCACAF Olympic Play-in42 December 2024Catherine Hall Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica2–13–2Friendly
Personal life Spence's brother Lewwis Spence is also a professional footballer.
Spence spoke on a podcast in 2020 about being part of the LGBT+ community.
Honours Chelsea
FA Women's Super League (5): 2015, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 FA WSL Spring Series (1): 2017 Women's FA Cup (4): 2014–15, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22 FA Women's League Cup (2): 2019–20, 2020–21 Women's FA Community Shield (1): 2020
Individual CONCACAF W Championship Best XI: 2022
References
External links
Drew Spence at Chelsea FC Drew Spence profile at the Football Association Drew Spence news at Chelsea FC