Jessie Alexandra Fleming (born March 11, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Portland Thorns and the Canadian national team.
Since 2024, she has served as Canada's captain.
2012
In 2012, she won the novice girls' 4000m race at the OFSAA Cross Country Championships.
The following year, she competed at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships and won both the midget women's 1500m and midget women's 3000m competitions.
She still holds the record for the 1500m in the midget women's category.
2014
In 2014, she competed again at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships, winning a gold medal in the junior women's 3000m race and a silver medal in the junior women's 1500m race.
Fleming verbally committed to UCLA in December 2014 and joined the Bruins in August 2016.
She played her first game on August 28, less than ten days after helping Canada win a bronze medal at the Olympic Games, scoring twice in a 4–3 loss to Florida.
Her goalscoring tear continued as she netted 7 goals in her first 6 games as a college player.
She appeared in 19 games, making 16 starts, and finished as the leading scorer on the team with 11 goals and 5 assists, for a total of 27 points.
2016
Fleming previously played collegiate soccer in the United States with the UCLA Bruins from 2016 to 2019, before turning professional and spending four years with Chelsea F.C. of the English Women's Super League.
She started playing soccer at the age of three for the London-based Nor'West Optimist Soccer Club, where she remained until 2016.
Fleming attended elementary school at Ryerson Public School, where she remained undefeated in cross-country throughout her entire elementary school career.
She went on to attend London Central Secondary School from Grade 9 to Grade 10, where she competed in OFSAA track and field and cross-country.
She switched to H. B. Beal Secondary School for Grades 11 and 12, and graduated in 2016.
Fleming was one of just two freshmen to receive All-America honours in 2016, being selected to the NSCAA All-America third team.
She was selected the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year, and also earned first-team NSCAA All-Pacific Region, All-Pac-12 and All-Freshman acclaim.
As a sophomore, Fleming scored 6 goals, including three game-winners, and recorded 8 assists, for a total of 20 points.
She earned first-team All-America honours and received first-team All-West Region and All-Pac-12 honours for the second-straight year.
2018
After helping UCLA reach the College Cup final and scoring a goal in the championship match, she was selected as a finalist for the Hermann Trophy and chosen as one of four nominees for the Class of 2018 Honda Sports Award for soccer.
Although she missed nearly half of her junior season while on national team duty, Fleming still earned first-team All-Pac-12 honours for the third year in a row and was a second-team All-West Region honouree after scoring 15 points on 5 goals and 5 assists.
As a senior, Fleming played in a defensive midfield role, finishing the season with 3 goals and 4 assists in 22 appearances, for a total of 10 points.
She was chosen as one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy and one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award.
She was also one of ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
She graduated from UCLA in 2021, with a major in materials engineering and a minor in environmental science.
2020
She was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning side at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she scored the team's only regular time goal in the final on a penalty kick, as well as the first goal in the penalty shoot-out.
Fleming was born in London, Ontario to Michaele and John Fleming, who are both originally from Toronto.
She has an older brother, Tristan, and a younger sister, Elysse.
Growing up, she competed in soccer, hockey (including in a full-contact boys' league), track and field, and cross-country.
On July 22, 2020, Fleming signed for FA WSL champions Chelsea on a three-year deal.
On August 29, she made her debut for the Blues as a substitute against Manchester City in the 2020 Women's FA Community Shield at Wembley.
On December 9, she made her UEFA Champions League debut in a 5–0 away win over Benfica.
She made her first start against the same opposition a week later, and helped her team to a 3–0 victory at Kingsmeadow.
On January 27, 2021, she made her first league start in a 4–0 away win over Aston Villa at Banks's Stadium.
On March 14, she played the full 90 minutes as the Blues won the 2021 FA Women's League Cup Final against Bristol City at Vicarage Road.
In her first season at Chelsea, she made a total of 26 appearances across all competitions and won the 2020–21 FA WSL title.
She was an unused substitute in the 2021 Champions League Final, where Chelsea was defeated by Barcelona.
Fleming would later cite the transition to the professional scene as a challenge, in particular the need to raise her game in order to vie for playing time.
Beginning the 2021–22 FA WSL, Fleming scored her first goal for Chelsea in a 6–1 victory against Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village on September 26, 2021.
Three days later, she got her first assist for the club in the 2020–21 Women's FA Cup quarter-final against Birmingham City, setting up Fran Kirby in the 72nd minute.
