About Toni
Date of birth 25 July 1991 (age 23)
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Winger/Forward
Club information: Current team: Manchester City Number 9
Man City on Duggan:
Toni Duggan joined City as one of four marquee signings at the end of 2013 on a three-year deal.
There is no doubt over the calibre of player Nick Cushing battled to sign during the off-season. Named as the FA Women’s Young Player of the Year in 2009, the England Women’s Under-23 Player of the Year in 2012 and North West Female Player of the Year in 2013, Duggan is no stranger to national plaudits.
Duggan signed from Everton Ladies where she began her career at the age of 15. Since breaking into the side in 2007, she established herself as a regular in the senior side, gaining valuable Champions League experience and asserting significant influence on Everton’s successful 2010 FA Women’s Cup campaign.
Away from home, youth provided a catalyst for various commendable international successes for Duggan. The Liverpool-born striker came on to score on her debut for England Under-17s and has since consistently found the net at under-19, 20 and 23 levels.
On her 18th birthday, the striker netted the winner in the UEFA Under-19 Championship final against Sweden. Since her call-up to the senior England Women’s team, Duggan has scored eight goals in 14 appearances, including a first-half hat-trick against Turkey in September 2013.
She scored her first City goals in a 2-1 win over Reading in the FA Women's Cup and went on to find the net ten times in her debut season for the Club.
Amongst those strikes were a Continental Cup semi-final winner at Hyde and a stunning volley on the last league game of the season. Both finishes occurred against Chelsea, with the latter voted Goal of the Season.
Press Release
Toni Duggan praises Manchester City for ‘aiming to change the perception of women’s football’
Toni Duggan, Manchester City and England forward, has opened up about the hurdles she faced in her journey from a young girl in Liverpool to international football star, and where she hopes the sport can go in years to come.
“Liverpool has always been surrounded by football and sport in general, there are a lot of deprived areas and football is an outlet for some people, it definitely was for me. The sport has taken me to a lot of places that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go to.”
Even coming from such a great footballing city, Duggan didn’t have the easiest path to the professional game facing prejudice and stereotyping from a young age.
“When I was a little girl, people’s Dads would be shouting and would be upset if I took on their son. As I got older the opponents did respect me but, when they turned up on a Saturday morning and there’s just one girl playing against a group of lads, it was a shock for them.
“When I signed for Manchester City, their main aim as a football club was to change the perception of women’s football. For us being around the Academy, being around the men’s team, if we turn up one day and we don’t look as professional or as good as them, it’s noticeable straight away.
“Every single day we’re challenged, so in a way it makes us become better as people and better as professionals. We’re always fighting against the perception but it’s slowly changing. It will change, I believe that, but we need to keep working hard at it.
With the developments in women’s football over recent years and with support from sponsors such as Continental Tyres, the profile of the game has risen. The popularity of Duggan and her team is expected to continue to rise over the summer with every England match of Canada 2015 being broadcast to the nation.
“In the past few years the media backing has been really good. Can there be more? Yes, but there can be a bit of improvement with a lot of things. Can we be better as players? Of course and I think the better we play on the pitch the more coverage and publicity we’ll get.
“Football has taught me a lot and I’m still learning now. I still make some mistakes but it’s all for that goal, to be the best player that I can be. If I can be that one day I’m sure I’ll look back and it will all have been, not an easy ride, but worth it. “
About Canada 2015:
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup will be the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. In March 2011, Canada won the right to host the event. The tournament will be held from 6 June to 5 July.
The top three teams from UEFA will qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament, to be held in Brazil. As England is not an Olympic nation, their team is ineligible for the Olympics. If England are one of the top three teams, the last Olympic spot will go to the fourth-best UEFA team. The Football Association had originally declared on 2 March 2015 its intention to enter and run teams on behalf of the British Olympic Association at the 2016 Olympics should England qualify.However, following strong objections from the the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations, as well as a commitment from FIFA that they would not allow entry of a British team unless all four Home Nations were in agreement, the Football Association announced on 30 March 2015 that they would not seek entry into the Olympic tournament.
The tournament will use the Hawk-Eye system as goal-line technology for the first time
Road to Canada:
This is the third video of four of the #roadtocanada seres, which will shed light on some of the sportswomen competeing at Canada 2015
