Elise Hughes
|
Hughes playing for Charlton Athletic in October 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Elise Anna Hughes | ||
| Date of birth | 15 April 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Hawarden, Wales | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Crystal Palace | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Northop Hall Girls F.C. | |||
| Everton | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2021 | Everton | 22 | (0) |
| 2020 | → Bristol City (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 19 | (5) |
| 2021–2022 | Charlton Athletic | 19 | (5) |
| 2022– | Crystal Palace | 48 | (22) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Wales U16 | |||
| 2017–2018 | Wales U17 | 8 | (3) |
| 2018 | Wales U19 | 4 | (1) |
| 2019– | Wales | 31 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 3 June 2025 | |||
Elise Anna Hughes (born 15 April 2001) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Crystal Palace and the Welsh national team.
Early life
Hughes was born in Hawarden, Flintshire.[1] Her grandfather David and father Peter were both footballers.[1] The family supports Everton.[1]
Club career
Hughes came through Everton's Regional Talent Centre.[1] In February 2018, Hughes made her first team debut for Everton in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal at 16 years old.[1] Hughes scored her first professional goal in a derby win against Liverpool during the group stage of the FA WSL Cup.[2]
On 4 January 2020, Hughes joined Bristol City on loan for the rest of the season.[3] However, Hughes returned to Everton on 30 January to rehabilitate after suffering an ACL injury.[4]
In 2023-24, Hughes scored 16 goals in 21 games for Crystal Palace, winning the Championship Golden Boot as Palace won promotion to the WSL,[5] however she suffered another ACL injury playing against Lewes in the penultimate game of the season.[6]
Elise is a UEFA Licence Holder and is involved in coaching her local club, Connah's Quay Nomads. [7]
International career
Hughes has made appearances for the Wales women's national football team at the under-16 and under-17 levels.[1] She has been called up several times to the senior team, and made her senior debut 5 March 2018 in the Cyprus Cup against Switzerland.[8][9] Elise now has 31 caps from Cymru and has scored 3 goals, the first of which was scored against Iceland in 2023 in the UEFA Women's Nations League. She suffered from an ACL which meant she was unable to play for many of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifiers.[10]
In June 2025, Hughes was named in Wales' squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2025.[11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 23 April 2025[12]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Everton | 2017–18 | Women's Super League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018–19 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 1 | ||
| 2019–20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 28 | 2 | ||
| Bristol City (loan) | 2019–20 | Women's Super League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2020–21 | Women's Championship | 19 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 7 |
| Charlton Athletic | 2021–22 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 7 | |
| Crystal Palace | 2022–23 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 6 | |
| 2023–24 | 21 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 20 | ||
| 2024-25 | Women's Super League | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 59 | 26 | ||
| Career total | 111 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 137 | 42 | ||
International
- As of matches played 3 June 2025, statistics from the Football Association of Wales[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 2018 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list Wales's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hughes goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 December 2023 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | Iceland | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League |
| 2 | 8 April 2024 | Zahir Pajaziti Stadium, Podujeva, Kosovo | Kosovo | 5–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying |
| 3 | 6–0 |
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Elise Hughes: The teenager starring for Wales & Everton". 3 April 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Girlhood Blue Hughes Revels In Derby Goal". www.evertonfc.com. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Hughes joins City Women". www.bcfc.co.uk.
- ^ "Sargeant and Hughes sidelined with ACL injuries". Bristol City.
- ^ "Crystal Palace Women promoted to Women's Super League after clinching Women's Championship title". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Wales forward Hughes suffers serious knee injury". BBC Sport.
- ^ Julie, Hopp- (25 January 2024). "Cymru forward Elise Hughes inspires next generation of footballers from Connah's Quay". Genero Adran Leagues. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Dave Jones (13 February 2018). "Flintshire's Elise Hughes in full Wales Women's football squad for Cyprus Cup". www.dailypost.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ "Cyprus Cup: Wales 0–0 Switzerland". www.bbc.co.uk. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
- ^ "Wales forward Hughes suffers serious knee injury". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Cymru squad announced for UEFA Women's EURO 2025 finals". Football Association of Wales. 19 June 2025. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "Wales - E. Hughes - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Wales - E. Hughes - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 May 2024.