Sophie Whitehouse

Sophie Whitehouse
Playing for Lewes in 2022
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-10-10) 10 October 1996
Place of birth Enfield, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Charlton Athletic
Number 1
Youth career
Potomac Hotspurs
2011–2015 Washington International Red Devils
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Columbia Lions 41 (0)
2019 Santa Clara Broncos 13 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2021 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (0)
2021 Birmingham City 2 (0)
2021–2022 Bristol City 6 (0)
2022–2024 Lewes 43 (0)
2024– Charlton Athletic 39 (0)
International career‡
2025– Republic of Ireland 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 July 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 1 July 2026

Sophie Whitehouse (born 10 October 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club Charlton Athletic. Born in England, she was chosen to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level.

Early life

Whitehouse was born in Enfield, London,[2] in 1996 to an Irish mother, Caroline Sergeant, and an English father. She also has a sister, Grace. When she was three months old, the family moved to East Africa for her mother's work in public health development. They lived in Kenya for four years before later relocating to Tanzania.[3] At the age of nine,[2] her family moved to Washington, D.C. in the United States for her mother's work at the World Bank.[3][4] She attended Washington International School, where she was a four-year letter-winner in football, basketball and softball. She began her high school football career as a goalkeeper before transitioning to a midfielder for her junior and senior seasons, in both of which she served as captain. She also played as a goalkeeper for the Potomac Hotspurs club team.[1]

From 2015 to 2018, Whitehouse was a goalkeeper for the Lions women's football team of Columbia University in New York City, though she redshirted in her freshman season in 2015.[5][1] For the 2019 season, she transferred to Santa Clara University in California as a graduate student and made thirteen appearances for the Broncos.[6]

Club career

Early career

She moved to the United Kingdom where she joined Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Women in 2020, however she did not make an appearance. She had a transfer to Birmingham City W.F.C. where she played the last four months of that season. In the following season she joined Bristol City W.F.C.[7]

Lewes

Whitehouse at Lewes in 2023.


In July 2022, she moved on a free transfer[7] to Lewes F.C,[5] in the same year that their American-raised goalkeeper Tatiana Saunders moved on to play for Durham.[8] Lewes is a unique team because they offer equal pay to both their female and male teams and their top paid player is a woman.[4] The team did well in the FA Cup in the 2022–23 season, making the quarter-finals where they were knocked out after a 3–1 loss to Manchester United W.F.C..[9]

Charlton Athletic

On 20 July 2024, Whitehouse was announced to have signed for Charlton Athletic on a one-year contract.[10] She kept six clean sheets on her way to becoming first-choice goalkeeper in her first season for the Addicks. She was also awarded the Women's Championship Save of the Season award for a 95th minute save in a 1–1 draw against Newcastle United. She signed a contract extension keeping her at The Valley until at least July 2026.[11] She won the WSL2 Save of the Month award for November 2025 for a save against Birmingham City, her second consecutive month winning the award.[12][13] On 24 March 2026, the club announced she had signed a long-term contract extension until June 2027.[14] She featured in the promotion/relegation playoff on 23 May 2026, where she made four saves during the penalty shootout to help Charlton to win promotion to the Women's Super League.[15]

International career

In April 2023, she travelled back to America as part of the national Irish team who were scheduled to play two friendly football matches in the US.[4] She qualified because her mother was born in Ireland. Whitehouse was one of the four goalkeepers on the Irish squad.[6] On 29 November 2025, Whitehouse made her full international debut in a behind-closed-doors friendly 3–2 win over Hungary in Marbella, Spain.[16]

Other work

Whitehouse was part of the motion capture team, providing the goalkeeper actions, for Football Manager 26, the first game of its series to include women's football.[17]

Honours

Charlton Athletic

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sophie Whitehouse". Columbia Lions. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Whitehouse signs for Spurs Women". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 Duffy, Emma (6 April 2023). "'Growing up in East Africa is very different' – Ireland's new nomadic recruit". The42.ie. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "From growing up in Africa to playing for the only club with equal pay – meet Ireland's newest goalkeeper". independent. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Rooks land goalkeeper Whitehouse – Lewes Community Football Club". lewesfc.com. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Sophie Whitehouse To Represent Ireland Women's National Team In Doubleheader Vs. United States". Columbia University Athletics. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Republic of Ireland – S. Whitehouse – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  8. ↑ "All square for Durham Women in riotous Wearside affair". Palatinate. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Association, The Football. "Manchester United beat Lewes in Women's FA Cup". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Sophie Whitehouse becomes an Addick". www.charltonafc.com.
  11. ↑ "Sophie Whitehouse | Charlton Athletic Football Club". www.charltonafc.com. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Whitehouse Wins Second Save of the Month". www.charltonafc.com. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Whitehouse Nominated for Save of the Month". www.charltonafc.com. 20 November 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Sophie Whitehouse signs contract extension | Charlton Athletic Football Club". www.charltonafc.com. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
  15. 1 2 Sanders, Emma (23 May 2026). "Charlton promoted to WSL after win against Leicester on penalties". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  16. ↑ "Larkin stars as Ireland prove too strong for Hungary". RTÉ Sport. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 29 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Roché, Art de (18 September 2025). "Women's football in Football Manager 26: How will it work? What could the impact of its inclusion be?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  18. ↑ Football, W. S. L. (3 June 2025). "Charlton Athletic's Sophie Whitehouse scoops Barclays Women's Championship 2024-25 Save of the Season award". WSL Football. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  19. 1 2 3 "Sophie Whitehouse shortlisted for the Barclays WSL2 Player of the Season | Charlton Athletic Football Club". www.charltonafc.com. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Sophie Whitehouse double win at WSL Awards | Charlton Athletic Football Club". www.charltonafc.com. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
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