Alexandra Culvin (born 16 November 1983)[1] is an English sports management lecturer and former women's footballer. As a footballer, Culvin played for Leeds, Everton, Doncaster Bellees, AZ Alkmaar, Bristol Academy, and Liverpool, and as an academic, she has worked as a lecturer at the University of Salford and Leeds Beckett University.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexandra Culvin | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1983-11-16) 16 November 1983 (age 38) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Full-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Everton | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Doncaster Belles | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | Leeds | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Everton | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | AZ Alkmaar | 11 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Bristol Academy | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Liverpool | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Culvin played predominantly as a full-back.[2] In 2004, whilst Culvin was playing for Leeds, she was selected for the England women's under-21 squad.[3] Culvin played for Leeds in the 2006 FA Women's Cup final against Arsenal.[4] In 2009, whilst Culvin was playing for Everton, she was selected for the Great Britain women's football squad for the 2009 Universiade.[5] Culvin later played for AZ Alkmaar in the women's Eredivisie, before signing for Bristol Academy in February 2011.[2] She was sent off during Bristol Academy's 2012 FA Cup semi-final against Birmingham City.[6] Culvin later played for Liverpool, before being released in October 2012.[7] During her career, Culvin played in the UEFA Women's Champions League for Everton, AZ and Bristol Academy.[1]
Culvin was born in Merseyside.[2] In 2009, she was studying at Liverpool John Moores University,[5] and she also wrote a PhD thesis on professional women's football in the UK at the University of Central Lancashire.[8] She has worked as a sports management lecturer at the University of Salford,[9] and as a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University.[10]
Culvin is a supporter of universal basic income,[11] and believes that men's football clubs should also have a women's team, as it would help them with public relations.[12] In 2020, she investigated the health effects on players of the FA Women's Super League becoming a fully professional league. She found evidence of fat shaming and eating disorders amongst players.[13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was critical of the government's decision to suspend women's football , whilst men's football was allowed to continue.[14]