Drew Spence breaks WSL appearance record with 217th appearance

Drew Spence became the Women's Super League's all-time appearance record holder when she started Tottenham's WSL match against Birmingham City on Sunday, making her 217th appearance. She described it as a "very proud moment".

Spence, 34, has spent her entire career in London, progressing from Arsenal and Fulham's academies before a 14-year spell at Chelsea and a move to Tottenham in 2022; she was named Tottenham captain in the summer. During her time at Chelsea she won five league titles and four FA Cup trophies, and she swapped nationalities from England to Jamaica in 2021.

The 217th appearance moved her ahead of ex-Chelsea captain Millie Bright in the WSL record books. "I've been around for a while! I'm incredibly proud to be able to do that and it's not just a proud moment for me, but also for my family," Spence told BBC Sport. "It's [about] all the hard work that I put in throughout the years. When you're younger, you don't really think about these types of accolades."

Spence has established herself quickly at Spurs, playing 22 games in her first season at the club — more than in any campaign at Chelsea — and she has played every minute so far in 2026-27. "I feel like I'm probably in the best shape that I've ever been. I'm recovering quicker, I understand my body a lot more and the nutrition side of things has helped me," said Spence. "It's understanding what is right for me to recover and just little things. We have all those luxuries now which is amazing for the younger players."

Tottenham manager Martin Ho praised Spence's application since joining the club, saying: "Her performances and her ability to adapt and change - physically, technically, tactically - she's taken huge steps. She's given herself longevity and she needs a lot of praise for that. I have massive respect for Drew as a professional, and as a person for what she's done for the game."

Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert reflected on Spence's influence at Chelsea and her qualities as a player and team-mate. "She was a great team-mate, such a sweet soul off the pitch, but when she got on it, she was an absolute warrior," Cuthbert said. "Technically, she's got the brains and the skillset. She looked after me from the very beginning [although] she welcomed me to the club with a two-footed challenge! "She certainly deserves all the plaudits. To have that longevity is something I look up to. Now, she's a leader at Spurs."

Spence acknowledged regrets from earlier in her career about preparing her body and said those lessons have helped her consistency at Tottenham. "I think people around me know that I've always just tried to do the best I can," added Spence. "I have a lot of regrets in my career, but I'm at a stage now where I'm trying to be as consistent with my performance as I can and to lead the team. "If I was more structured or understood my body better, I could have done that earlier in my career and given myself a better chance in certain points. "But that's all part of the journey, that's all part of growing, that's all learning experiences. It's regrets within myself. But when I look back, I'll still be proud." She was part of the Jamaica squad in 2023 that wrote an open letter calling for "immediate and systematic change" within the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and has pushed for improved conditions in women's football; Ho said: "She's used all those experiences to put herself in the position she is and she's grown from them."

Spence said she still intends to continue playing and wants to keep improving aspects of her game. "There's parts of my game that I feel like I still need to improve on and I want to give it everything that I've got until I can't go any longer," she said. "It was always my biggest dream [to play football] so I want to do it for as long as I can and enjoy it whilst I still can."