Elise Hughes

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.

Elise Hughes

Hughes playing for Charlton Athletic in October 2021
Personal information
Full name	Elise Anna Hughes
Date of birth	(2001-04-15) 15 April 2001 (age 24)
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 as of 29 May 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 June 2025

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]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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.

List of international goals scored by Elise Hughes

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