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Welsh footballer (born 1989)

Natasha Harding

Natasha Harding

Key facts

date of birthMarch 2, 1989
educated atYsgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
occupationassociation football player
place of birthCaerphilly
All data from the card 12
Full name
Natasha Marie Harding
Date of birth
2 March 1989
Place of birth
Caerphilly, Wales
Positions
Forwardfullback
Years
Team
2007–2012
Cardiff City
2012–2014
Bristol Academy
2015
Manchester City
2016–2017
Liverpool
2018–2022
Reading
2022–2023
Aston Villa
2008–2022
Wales

Natasha Marie Harding (born 2 March 1989) is a retired Welsh footballer. Harding began her career with Cardiff City and has also played in the FA WSL for Bristol Academy and Manchester City.

Club career

Harding began her career at Cardiff City and made her first team debut in January 2007, during a 4–0 Welsh Women's Cup quarter final win over Newport Strikers. Harding came on as a second-half substitute for Gwennan Harries. She subsequently represented the club in the 2007–08 UEFA Women's Cup.

She went on to captain Cardiff City, then joined Bristol Academy ahead of the 2012 FA WSL campaign. Bristol manager Mark Sampson said of Harding: "Tash will really bring another dimension to our forward play, a striker who can play off the shoulder and with great speed was something we were missing last season so it will give us far more variation to our play going forward." At the end of the 2014 season Harding signed for the Washington Spirit, but her move fell through over visa issues and she signed instead for Manchester City.

In January 2016, Harding was sold by Manchester City, who had signed Swedish forward Kosovare Asllani. Later that week she signed for Liverpool. Harding left Liverpool Ladies in December 2017. Reading Women snapped up the Welsh international on a free transfer in January 2018 Since joining the Royals in 2018, Harding has been named captain. On 3 May 2022, Reading announced that Harding would leave the club at the end of the season.

On 16 September 2023, Harding announced her retirement from football.

International career

Harding played five times for the Wales Under-19 team in season 2007–08. She made her senior international debut, aged 19, as a late substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Switzerland in Oberdorf on 8 May 2008.

Harding scored her first goals for Wales on 20 June 2012 in a UEFA Qualifying match against Israel at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. She scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win to cap a fine evening both personally and for her country.

As a student at UWIC, Harding was called–up to represent Great Britain at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China.

On 12 April 2022, she played her 100th match for Wales in a 3–0 win over Kazakhstan in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification.

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 June 2012 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales  Israel 1–0 5–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying
2. 2–0
3. 3–0
4. 7 April 2013 East End Park, Dunfermline, Scotland  Scotland 1–1 1–2 Friendly
5. 4 April 2014 Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium, Eskişehir, Turkey  Turkey 5–0 5–1 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
6. 9 April 2014 Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales  Ukraine 1–1 1–1
7. 19 June 2014 Traktor Stadium, Minsk, Belarus  Belarus 1–0 3–0
8. 2–0
9. 3–0
10. 26 November 2015 Bridge Meadow Stadium, Haverfordwest, Wales  Kazakhstan 1–0 4–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying
11. 1 December 2015 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel  Israel 1–1 2–2
12. 2–1
13. 5 April 2017 CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, Wales  Northern Ireland 3–1 3–1 Friendly
14. 12 June 2018 Newport Stadium, Newport, Wales  Russia 3–0 3–0 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
15. 29 August 2019 Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 1–0 6–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying
16. 3–0
17. 5–0
18. 22 October 2020 Rodney Parade, Newport, Wales  Faroe Islands 2–0 4–0
19. 3–0
20. 1 December 2020  Belarus 1–0 3–0
21. 17 September 2021 Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales  Kazakhstan 2–0 6–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
22. 21 September 2021 Pärnu Rannastaadion, Pärnu, Estonia  Estonia 1–0 1–0
23. 26 October 2021 Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales  Estonia 3–0 4–0
24. 26 November 2021 Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, Wales  Greece 5–0 5–0
25. 16 February 2022 Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain  Scotland 3–1 3–1 2022 Pinatar Cup
26. 12 April 2022 Astana Arena, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan  Kazakhstan 2–0 3–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Allegations of financial impropriety

In November 2024, BBC News reported allegations against Harding (now using her married name of Allen-Wyatt), of taking payments for undelivered football coaching, unpaid loans and unfulfilled sponsorship deals. Up to 70 parents and businesses claimed losses totaling nearly £70,000.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bristol Academy 2012 WSL 14 3 0 0 4 1 - - 18 4
2013 14 4 0 0 2 0 - - 16 4
2014 11 1 0 0 5 3 4 2 - 20 6
Total 39 8 0 0 11 4 4 2 - - 54 14
Manchester City 2015 WSL 10 1 0 0 1 0 - - 11 1
Liverpool 2016 WSL 16 3 0 0 2 0 - - 18 2
2017 8 4 0 0 - - - - 8 4
2017–18 5 4 0 0 3 0 - - 8 4
Total 29 11 0 0 5 0 - - - - 34 10
Reading 2017–18 WSL 13 0 - - 0 0 - - 13 0
2018–19 19 1 3 0 5 0 - - 27 1
2019–20 8 0 2 0 2 0 - - 12 0
2020–21 22 3 1 0 4 3 - - 26 6
2021–22 22 0 2 0 2 0 — — 26 0
Total 84 4 8 0 12 3 - - - - 104 7
Aston Villa 2022–23 WSL 4 0 0 0 2 0 — — 6 0
Career total 166 24 8 0 31 7 4 2 - - 209 32

Honours

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Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source article