Cecily Wellesley-Smith

Cecily Wellesley-Smith
Personal information
Full name Cecily Margaret Wellesley-Smith[1]
Date of birth (2007-01-04) 4 January 2007[1]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position Centre-back[2]
Team information
Current team
 FC Rosengård
(on loan from Arsenal)
Number 15
Youth career
2016–2023 Oxford United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2025 Oxford United 16 (0)
2025– Arsenal 0 (0)
2025 → Leicester City (loan) 0 (0)
2026– → FC Rosengård (loan) 14 (2)
International career‡
England U16
2024 England U17 17 (0)
2025– England U19 9 (0)
2025– England U20 3 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:59, 24 July 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 13:51, 2 August 2026 (UTC)

Cecily Margaret Wellesley-Smith (born 4 January 2007) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swedish Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård, on loan from Women's Super League club Arsenal.

Club career

Oxford United

At the age of 9, Wellesley-Smith joined Oxford United.[3] She progressed through the ranks of the club, eventually joining the first team at age 16 during the 2023–24 season.[4][5] In her first season of senior football, she became a regular in the Oxford United starting lineup.[4] The following year, she made 16 competitive appearances for the club.[6]

Arsenal

Wellesley-Smith also spent much of the 2024–25 campaign with Arsenal, who signed her to a dual-registration agreement that also allowed her to compete for the Arsenal Women's Academy Under-21 side.[6] She went on to become a prominent contributor in the Arsenal Under-21 squad's PGA League Division One title.[7] On 24 June 2025, Arsenal announced that they had signed Wellesley-Smith to her first professional contract.[7][8]

Leicester City (loan)

In September 2025, the club sent her on a loan spell through the 2025–26 season to fellow Women's Super League club Leicester City.[6] It marked Wellesley-Smith's first time living away from home.[2] Later that month, Wellesley-Smith made her Leicester City debut, participating in a 5–1 Women's League Cup victory over Ipswich Town.[9] She would go on to struggle to earn playing time with Leicester, failing to earn any further appearances following her debut.[10] In January 2026, Wellesley-Smith was recalled to Arsenal after only completing half of the original loan agreement.[11]

FC Rosengård (loan)

On 2 February 2026,[12] Wellesley-Smith was announced to have joined Swedish Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård through the end of the 2026 Damallsvenskan.[13][14] She made her club debut twelve days later, earning the starting nod in a Svenska Cupen match against Vittsjö GIK to kick off Rosengård's season.[15] On 17 March 2026, she scored her first Rosengård goal, heading in the final goal in a 3–0 victory over Växjö DFF to close out Rosengård's Svenska Cupen campaign with a win.[16]

International career

Wellesley-Smith has represented England at multiple youth international levels. In November 2022, she captained the under-16 team in a friendly match against Wales.[17] In 2024, she was a member of the under-17 squad that finished the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship as runners-up after losing to Spain in the final.[18] She was named to the Team of the Tournament alongside England teammates Lola Brown and Nelly Las.[5] Later the same year, Wellesley-Smith helped the under-17s to a fourth-place finish in the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[19] Wellesley-Smith has also been capped at the under-19 and under-20 levels.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Dominican Republic 2024 – Squad List (ENG)" (PDF). FIFA. p. 5. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Wellesley-Smith on her upcoming loan to Sweden". Arsenal F.C. 4 April 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "U's defender to join Arsenal after signing professional contract". Oxford Mail. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Cecily Wellesley-Smith signs for Arsenal". Oxford United FC. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  5. 1 2 "NXGN 2026: Lola Brown, Laila Harbert and 10 English wonderkids that Lionesses fans NEED to know". Goal.com. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Puodzius, Sophie (5 September 2025). "Cecily Wellesley-Smith joins Leicester City on loan from Arsenal". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Leicester confirm loan signing of defender Wellesley-Smith from Arsenal". BBC Sport. 4 September 2025. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "Cecily Wellesley-Smith signs professional contract". Arsenal F.C. 4 April 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  9. ↑ Dunn, Carrie (2 January 2026). "Cecily Wellesley-Smith returns to Arsenal". SheKicks. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  10. 1 2 Lindvall, Ella. "Klart: Rosengård lånar in mittback från Arsenal - Damallsvenskan - Fotbollskanalen". Fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  11. ↑ Silas, Don (6 January 2026). "SportArsenal recall two players from loan". Daily Post. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Cecily Wellesley-Smith joins FC Rosengard on loan". WSL Football. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Wiman, Max (2 February 2026). "FC Rosengård lånar in 19-årig mittback från Arsenal". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  14. ↑ "Cecily Wellesley-Smith: Arsenal defender joins FC Rosengard on loan for 2026 season". BBC Sport. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  15. ↑ Stafhammar, Lovina (14 February 2026). "Vittsjö och Rosengård fick med sig varsitt poäng efter sen kvittering". FotbollDirekt (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Det är lätt att säga krösasylt". FC Rosengård (in Swedish). 17 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  17. ↑ Rice, Liam (9 November 2022). "Oxford United Women teenager captains England to win". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  18. ↑ Nottingham, Juliet (18 May 2024). "Report: England WU17 0-4 Spain". The Football Association. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Cardy, Freddie (12 May 2025). "Exclusive: Arsenal Women academy duo set to sign professional contracts". Online Gooner. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
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