Mary Earps Joins London City: A New Chapter in Women's Football

Mary Earps has never been shy about setting standards. Now she has chosen the next stage of her career with the same clarity that has defined her time at the top of the women’s game.

The former international goalkeeper has committed to London City, drawn in by what she describes as a long-term project built on shared values, serious investment and a clear plan to climb the Women’s Super League.

“I’m over the moon to join this club and I’m really looking forward to it. I feel the club aligns with what I stand for. I can’t wait to get started and to get down to business,” Earps said, outlining a move that is about far more than a change of shirt.

A project with teeth

This is not a romantic late-career wander. Earps has been convinced by a club that has made no secret of its ambition. The new training facility, already a reference point inside London City, has become a symbol of intent.

“The vision and ambition, including the new training facility is incredible and I’m looking forward to seeing that develop,” she said. “It shows what our owner Michele (Kang) and everyone at the club want to do in terms of really going for it. It’s about putting a marker down and saying we want to be competitive in a short space of time.”

That word – competitive – is doing a lot of work here. London City’s first season in the WSL ended with a mid-table finish in 2025-26, an impressive platform for a newly promoted side. For Earps, that is the starting point, not the destination.

“The team had a brilliant 2025-26 season finishing mid-table in their first season, now it’s about climbing the table and working towards finishing as high as possible.”

Shared values, shared responsibility

If the facilities and ambition caught her eye, the club’s identity sealed the decision. Earps has long spoken about using her platform to push the women’s game forward; London City’s hierarchy, she believes, are aligned with that mission.

“The club’s values represent what I want to represent and they are passionate about what I want to achieve and change the game in a positive way,” she said. “All the conversations have been really positive and every time I spoke with the club I wanted to hear more.”

That sense of purpose matters. Earps is not arriving to coast on reputation. She is walking into a dressing room that has already proved it can survive at this level, determined to help it do much more than that.

A new goalkeeping tandem

On the pitch, the contest for the No 1 shirt will be one of the most intriguing subplots of London City’s season. Earps is relishing it. So is Elene Lete, the goalkeeper who impressed last year with a string of sharp saves and big-game interventions.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside Elene (Lete) and the goalkeeping unit. Elene made some great saves and interventions last season. Hopefully we can bounce off each other and work hard and enjoy it,” Earps said.

That is the competitive edge London City want: two high-level goalkeepers driving standards every day at the training ground, not just one established name keeping the gloves warm.

Earps, for her part, is clear that the bar she sets for herself has not moved.

She remains “driven to sustain her exceptional personal standards at the domestic level”, fully aware that the WSL will punish any drop in performance. At this stage of her career, she is not looking for comfort. She is looking for a challenge.

A message to the stands

The connection with supporters will come quickly if Earps has her way. She has always worn her emotions plainly on the pitch, and she is already looking beyond the training ground to those first home games.

“My message to the fans is that I’m really excited to get started and make some memories together, I can’t wait to play in front of you all,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the players, the staff, the style of play and club culture and trying to give everything I can to help the club achieve its collective goals and be as successful as possible.”

For all the talk of infrastructure and long-term vision, that is where this move will ultimately be judged: in the noise from the stands, the points on the board, the nights when London City stare down the WSL’s established powers and refuse to blink.

Earps knows the scale of the task.

“I feel I still have so much left to give to the game, and that's exactly why I chose London City. It won’t be easy, the WSL is extremely competitive.”

She has picked a club intent on rising and a league that offers no soft landings. Now comes the hard part: proving that this ambitious partnership can turn bold words and new buildings into something far more tangible – a genuine force at the sharp end of English women’s football.