Spurs Women have handed academy goalkeeper Sophie Jackson her first professional contract, a reward for an 18-year-old who has been around the senior squad for the best part of three years.
Jackson joined Spurs Women as an Under-14 and has worked her way through the academy since. Along the way she has trained and travelled with the first team on a number of occasions, and the club confirmed on Tuesday that she has now signed professional terms.
She is not the only one. Head coach Martin Ho revealed that Jhanaie Pierre has also signed a professional deal, and he sees the pair as proof that the pathway at Tottenham is getting stronger.
Who is Sophie Jackson?
Jackson is a goalkeeper who has recently turned 18. This season she has played for the Under-19s while continuing to train with the senior keepers, Lize Kop and Selma Panengstuen.
Her first call into a women’s first-team matchday squad came in 2024/25. In that same campaign she captained the Under-16s to the Professional Game Academy Trophy, which tells you how highly she is rated inside the building.
In May 2026 she was part of Spurs’ first World Football Sevens campaign, starting alongside a number of senior players against Aston Villa and Manchester United. On the international stage, she has represented England at Under-19 and Under-20 level.
‘A proud day for me and my family’
Jackson sounded like someone who sees this as a starting point rather than an arrival. She said: “It’s a proud day for me and my family. I think it’s something everyone dreams of growing up playing football.”
She was just as clear about where she sits in the pecking order, and what comes next. Jackson added: “For now I want to keep pushing, keep supporting the other two goalkeepers and prove to Martin [Ho] and Willco [Ian Willocks, First Team Goalkeeping Coach] the player that I am. Then further on in my career, I hope to make my debut and become a regular in the starting XI.”
Why Martin Ho thinks the academy is working
The timing is good for Ho, whose side have just ended their WSL losing run with a 4-1 win at Birmingham. He framed the two new deals as a message to every young player at the club.
Ho said: “We’re delighted to see Sophie sign her first professional contract. This is an important milestone in her development, and we’re excited to support her as she takes the next step and continues to challenge herself within our first team environment.”
He went on: “Having both Sophie and Jhanaie Pierre sign professional deals is a strong endorsement of our academy’s progress, and the work of the staff supporting our young players. We want every player in our academy to see a genuine route into senior football here, with clear standards, the right support and opportunities they can earn.”
Verdict: Sophie Jackson’s Spurs Women future is about patience
Nobody should expect Jackson to be in goal for a WSL game any time soon. Kop and Panengstuen are ahead of her, and she said herself that her job for now is to support them. Her minutes will come with the Under-19s.
But a professional deal at 18 matters. It gives a young keeper security, a proper place in the senior environment and work with a first-team goalkeeping coach, which is exactly what a position that rewards experience needs. Add England caps at Under-19 and Under-20 level, and this looks like a club that wants to keep hold of one of its own.
It also fits a wider picture in N17 right now. On the men’s side, Luca Williams-Barnett’s debut at 18 has fans talking about the academy again. Jackson’s route will be slower, as it always is for goalkeepers, but Ho has made it clear that the door is open.
