Recognised by her National Coach as one of the finest midfielders in the women’s game, Fara started playing football aged just seven and was a Chelsea first-teamer by 17, the same age at which she made her senior England debut in Portugal.
She then enjoyed a stint as captain of the U19s (she skippered them at the UEFA Championship in 2003, leading them to the semis), but by 2007, Fara was an England regular and was a key part of the squad that reached the World Cup Finals in China.
She played in all three group games, against Japan (2-2), Germany (0-0) and Argentina (6-1), scoring against the South Americans. Sadly she was suspended for the quarter-final defeat to USA.
Her international career, though, continued on an upward trajectory and she both captained and scored for England during Euro 2009 in Finland, where they reached the Final, only to be beaten by a dominant German side.
With seven goals, she was her country’s top scorer during their 2011 World Cup qualifiers and she also scored their opening goal in the Finals, the 1-1 draw with Mexico.
Having been a fixture in the England set-up for over a decade, Fara joined an illustrious list of Gillian Coulthard, Rachel Yankey and Kelly Smith in earning her 100th international cap, against Switzerland in the 2012 Cyprus Cup, and she celebrated this milestone by captaining her country and scoring the winning goal.