Chelsea's My Fair Lady

One of the leading female footballers in the world has joined Chelsea Ladies. Former United States international Lorrie Fair, the youngest member of the US World Cup-winning team in 1999, arrived in London this week to start her Chelsea career. The 29-year-old from California made 123 appearances for the US during a star-studded career as a versatile midfielder or defender, the high point being victory over China in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final. Most recently, Fair continued her soccer career playing on a US semi-professional men's team. Fair, who will become Chelsea's first US recruit, said: "I had the opportunity to come to England and play for Chelsea, which was too good to turn down. It is an honour to play for such a great club. "I am here first and foremost to hopefully help the team which has so many good players, and at the same time the challenge of trying to raise the profile of the women's game in England is also a big motivating factor. Those are the two key things that Chelsea and I focused on when we talked about me coming to play. It was about what I could contribute on the pitch." During the US summer tour in July, Fair began working for Chelsea as a US ambassador on the club's community and marketing initiatives in her home country. She has also been an athlete ambassador for Right to Play, Chelsea's Global Charity Partner since 2006. When not on team duty, she will be helping Chelsea's Football in the Community programme particularly encouraging more girls and women to take up the game to improve health, fitness and to tackle childhood obesity. Fair said: "I enjoyed meeting the team out in California last summer and I am a huge supporter of what the club is trying to do by encouraging grass roots development in the UK and throughout the world , and I will be working hard to get more women and girls playing." She will also be staying in contact with Chelsea fans in the US, where women's football has a huge following, through the Chelsea US members site, www.chelseafc.com/america, contributing a regular blog about her time in England. Chelsea Ladies manager Shaun Gore said: "Lorrie is a great player and an icon in the US. No doubt she will generate a huge amount of exposure for the women's game in this country. Someone of her stature can become a role model for many young aspiring female players in the UK and to help more women and girls participate in sport generally." Chelsea Ladies play in the Women's Premier League where they currently lie sixth. The team has three full and seven youth England internationals. They play their games at the Met Police ground at Imber Court and a list of their upcoming fixtures can be found on www.chelseafc.com. Lorrie Fair has been a standout on the soccer field since she was a kid growing up in Los Altos, Calif. While at Los Altos High School in California, Fair led her team to a state championship earning NSCAA all-American and Parade magazine all-American along the way. After a successful high school career, Fair, regarded as the top recruit in the country, received a scholarship to the University of North Carolina. At UNC, she helped her team win the NCAA championship in 1996, 1997 and 1999. At the age of 15, she played on the U.S. U-20 National Team where she participated in the Nordic Cup in Germany. At 17, Fair earned a spot as an alternate on the 1996 gold medal winning Olympic team and secured a full-time spot on the U.S. National Team. Fair had a breakthrough year in 1999 helping the U.S. women's team win their first ever World Cup. Along with being the youngest member of the World Cup Championship team she was selected as U.S. Soccer's Chevrolet Youth Female Athlete of the Year in 1999. Fair went back to UNC after the World Cup to play her senior season and she led the team to another NCAA Championship. Fair played every minute of the 2000 Olympics, anchoring the midfield to help the U.S. earn Silver. Now, with 123 caps and a variety of awards and championships, Fair is considered among the all-time greatest women soccer players. In January 2008, she became the first U.S. recruit for England's Chelsea Football Club Ladies team. Fair has a twin sister, Veronica (Ronnie) Fair who played soccer at Stanford University and shared the field with Lorrie in 1997 during a international appearance against England, marking the first time sisters played together for the U.S. National Team.