Exclusive Interview with Sara Hayduchok: Insights on Singapore football & her next move in women's football; Plus NWSL transfers update by Tim Grainey

In addition to reviewing the final standings of the 2024 Singapore Women's Premier League, we will also take a closer look at the roster of Singapore's Women's National Team, which achieved an impressive 9-0 victory over Macao. Furthermore, we will provide updates on the latest mid-summer signings in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), following our coverage of significant international player acquisitions earlier this month. For more details, check out our recent article on the latest signings in women's football on TribalFootball.com.

Earlier this month we reviewed the Preliminary Round of the expanded Asian Women’s Champions League involving 13 teams. TribalFootball.com caught up exclusively after these matches with Lion City Sailors’s American defender Sara Hayduchok about her journey to Singapore, future plans and the state of the game in the city-state. AdvertisementAdvertisement

Sara Hayduchok of Lion City Sailors of Singapore Exclusive Interview and Singapore Women’s Football Review 

Lion City Sailors of Singapore did not advance from the Preliminary Round of the expanded Asian Women’s Champions League of 13 teams last month, but they did recently capture their third consecutive Women’s Premier League championship. Their American import defender Sara Hayduchok talked exclusively to TribalFootball.com about her journey to Singapore, playing in the Asian Women’s Champions League, her possible future plans and the state of the game in the city-state as we look at the Singapore women’s league and national team.

Sara Hayduchok described her route to Singapore, in which she was one of only two Americans—along with Kitchee of Hong Kong’s Mikalya Simons (23)—who were on the 13 teams’ rosters for the Asian Women’s Champions League Preliminary Round competition across all of Asia. Her path to the Asian Women’s Champions League and Lion City Sailors was as she described: “It was very a-traditional. When I graduated college (at Cairn University in Langhorne, Pennsylvania) in 2020, there was a bit of a hiatus where I was from and especially in this region for sports (due to COVID).

"I was working in the U.S. for a bit and then went to Malaysia with a sports-related organization in the summer of 2022. It was through them that I was volunteering with all kinds of organizations in the region. I came across a football club in Singapore and had the opportunity to join the league through trials directly and got accepted. It was actually a bit difficult to get a visa to continue because they don’t allow visas to be provided for professional footballers, women footballers I should say; men footballers absolutely can get a visa but for women, they don’t allow it.

"I had to find a creative way; it was difficult to find a job (in Singapore) so I took a student visa to learn Mandarin Chinese through a language school and chose the length of my program to be the length of the season. Then thankfully, after a successful first season, my club took me on in a more corporate role that was a good fit.”

She is now the Commercial Manager for Lion City Sailors (see more below).

In terms of playing in the Asian Women’s Champions League—finishing third (0 points) against India’s Odisha (6 points) and Jordan’s Etihad  (3 points) in their three team group in Jordan late last month, she said: “I felt it was incredible.

"I think we all feel really honored. I see (the tournament) as not a step forward for women’s football in Singapore, I find it as a step (forward) for women, period. To be a part of it and showcase what we are capable of, despite India being 70 places above us in the FIFA rankings (of national teams with India at 68, Jordan at 74 and Singapore 138 in the latest rankings)."

(The game against Jordan was): “A big step up physically for us. Culturally, girls’ sports and especially outdoor contact sports have not been encouraged until recently (in Singapore). Some national team players never started (playing the game) until they were 16 (years old) but now they are starting at 5 (years old). Our team in Jordan was very young, averaging about 20 (years of age). The Indian club players said to us: ‘This doesn’t look like a women’s team’ because we were so young and small, but that was a needed challenge for us to take strength and conditioning more seriously… We were proud of how we competed and kept up with them.”

She described that Lion City Sailors plays a different style to that of the Singapore national team, which has struggled for years due to a small player pool population (see more below):  “We build up from the back on the ground, through the middle with a distinct style. Singapore (women’s national team) has wing play and plays more defensively with a mid or low block and sending more long balls (forward) but they are re-strategizing as they focus on the upcoming generation of female footballers.”

The vast increase in corporate spending and investment in women’s football over the past few years—particularly in the U.S., the U.K., Spain and Australia—has not yet arrived in Southeast Asia. On developing sponsorships in Singapore in her dual role with the club, she said that it is still a challenge, even though global consulting firm Deloitte is in the third year of their sponsorship of the women’s league, worth more than $300,000.

This is part of the consulting company’s growing expansion on the marketing side with football, including agreements with U.S. Soccer and their financial analysis reports on the game for UEFA and FIFA. In Singapore, league games are broadcast on a third-party’s YouTube page that is run by volunteers.

She said that: “The following for women’s sports is still growing in Singapore and we are waiting to see a stronger economic impact...With Deloitte as an exception, the handful of companies who have arranged partnerships have done so with little to no cash investment, but I hope that changes as those who value the power of women’s sports are growing in their financial capacity and vice versa—those with financial capacity are growing in how much they value women’s sports.”

As we have seen around the world of late, particularly in England where clubs’ commitment to women’s footballers in the lower tiers is seemingly on a year-to-year basis and currently Bordeaux in France—so competitive just a few years ago—is now in administration after being relegated to Division 2 for 2024-25 (which is now down to 11 teams as a result) and has just started playing in the regional third division, with their very future in doubt during the summer off-season.

These sponsorship efforts are difficult to renew annually—particularly when a company struggles—and these donation funds can dry up quickly because they are not directly tied to ROI for marketing and sales efforts but are seen as more social benefit initiatives. Sponsorship is a crucial component to grow the game in the region, providing more visibility to attract fans and spur more investment by the government and Football Associations to support women’s football. In her role, Hayduchok brings an important perspective from a market where women’s football is viewed as viable, important and attractive to sponsors.

Similarly on the fan side, she said that since independence (in 1965), Singapore’s first priority for many years was to survive as a nation, with extreme limitations on physical resources, but now the economy has expanded so that there is more discretionary income for sports playing and viewing: “Sport to participate in and watch for entertainment is worth paying for.” She expects it to continue to improve: “over the next 10+ years when my age group becomes parents and wants to uplift the generations that come after them, but it still is a growing story.”

On that front, reflecting her earlier comment on the fact that women players do not qualify for visas to play football, we examined the latest Football Association of Singapore 2024 Annual Report and found some shocking numbers in terms of men’s versus women’s football funding. The FAS reported for 2023-24 (the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2024) revenues of US$23,179,393 with the vast majority coming from a Sports Singapore government grant (US$18,607,301) followed by Sponsorship (US$801,423)—but down from the previous fiscal year of US$945,891—and Gate Collections (US$373,842) from league and national team attendances. 

The FA reported a net loss of $237,848 from the FA’s Total Expenses (US$23,417,242) with the bulk attributed to the Singapore Premier League (men’s expense of US$14,183,252) followed by FA Operating expenses of US$2,463,633, Football Development expenses of US$1,876,449 and Domestic Football League expenses at US$1,056,507. Singapore’s National Teams’ Training costs—men, women and youth—were US$1,863,526.

The women’s football expense (including the Premier League) is US$658,665, with an extremely small level of growth over the 2022-23 Fiscal Year (US$642,727) while the FA’s Total Expenses were much lower a year ago (US$21,468,413) with a small deficit of US$4,986—with the Singapore Premier League growing substantially from just over US$13.1 million to US$14.1 million this year, accounting for most of growth in expenses.

A few years ago, we featured the Singapore league along with the National Team when they hosted a tournament in which Papua New Guinea’s women’s national team participated and went back to Oceania with the championship trophy in April of 2022 after defeating the host nation Singapore 1-0. PNG also defeated the Seychelles from Africa 9-0. It is sometimes difficult to discover if these are really full national sides or mostly youth players (though credit should be given to the Football Association of Singapore’s website as it covers men’s and women’s teams quite comprehensively), which we talked about this past summer when Trinidad and Tobago took a youth team to a national team’s tournament in Curacao and lost to full national sides of smaller nations Aruba and Curacao: (see: The Week in Women's Football: Argentina anger; T&T collapse; Japan impress ahead of Paris - TribalFootball.com). We do hope that globally, national Football Associations become more transparent in identifying national teams that are primarily youth teams for friendlies in the future, but it can be a grey area and people need to be vigilant about the rosters for these events.

Finally, we asked Sara Hayduchok about her future plans regarding football, particularly as she qualified to play internationally for the U.S. and Philippines through parentage.

She explained that: “Philippines reinstated my dual citizenship a few months ago and I’m in the process of getting my Philippine passport—I have been reaching out since 2018. While I hope to be based in Southeast Asia long-term, I am not yet sure where I will settle down. I am open to being based in the Philippines, but it is hard to tell… It is hard to tell on-line which clubs support their women’s teams better.

"I might go and explore; as a citizen I can be there as long as I want.”

She said about their WNT’s recent success, including qualifying directly for the 2023 WWC from the Asian Qualifying Tournament and winning a game against hosts New Zealand (1-0): “They (the Philippines WNT) can keep shooting up; it is a super hero story (from the 2023 WWC). They take a unique approach (to recruiting their diaspora) and they allow dual citizenship.” 

Note: Kaya-Iloilo bypassed the AWCL Preliminary Stage and was seeded directly into the 16 team Group Stage starting next month. Kaya won the Philippines Football Federation Women’s League in 2023 and have a number of national team players on the side.

As Hayduchok points out, the PFF has done so much right over the past few years in developing their women’s program, restarting the youth national teams even while relying heavily on their diaspora—primarily in North America—for team members and were perceived as an unqualified success last year at the WWC Finals. It is hard to keep building off of an initial WWC Finals appearance.

We reported earlier this year about Haiti performing so poorly at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup championship tournament qualifiers and not qualifying for the finals (see: The Week in Women's Football: Mexico celebrate USA shock; Spain win Nations League - Tribal Football). All credit to the Philippines on continuing the development of women’s football and drawing talented diaspora to their national team and league.

Sara Hayduchok’s Lion City Sailor side again won the league championship, which just concluded the 2024 season in mid-September, topping Albirex Niigata S (S—for Singapore to differentiate from the parent club in Japan) by one point after defeating Still Aerion 6-0 in a make-up game that was postponed due to their participation in the WCL, which they again qualified for next year, in 2025-26.

Lion City Sailors celebrate their third consecutive Women’s Premier League Championship of Singapore on September 15, 2024. Photo Courtesy of the Football Association of Singapore.

The WPL Golden Boot was won by Japan’s Manami Fukuzawa (32) of Albirex Niigata with 23 goals; she was the WPL Player of the Year in 2022 while with Lion City. Four of the top seven scorers in the 2024 league campaign were imports. Singapore nationals Raeka Ee of Lion City Sailors (18 goals), Farah Nurzahirah of Geylang International (15 goals) and Josephine Ang of Lion City Sailors (12 goals) followed Fukuzawa. Tied with Ang for fourth was Japan’s Kana Kitahara, also of Albirex Niigata, on 12 goals. In fifth was Sydney Hector of Hougang and Canada (Ontario) with 11 goals, Thailand’s Uraiporn Youngkul of Still Aerion on 10 goals and American Victoria Sarka, who played with Geylang and Tampines Rovers, with 9 goals.

Albirex Niigata is a men’s and women’s team in Japan’s top league J1 and the WE-League, respectively, and has had a satellite men’s team in Singapore’s top league since 2004. The parent club has regularly sent players on loan from Japan, a number of whom were university students and others were their academy players.

During the 2000’s, the S-League on the men’s side attracted foreign teams to try to boost the local league’s attendance, including teams from China, Korea Republic, Malaysia and Japan, was the loop was quite anemic at the time. (I was in Singapore in 2002 and the local league had very low visibility, awareness and interest from locals, who followed the English Premier League and other European leagues).

The Albirex Niigata women’s team in Japan was started in 2002 and has played in the top tier WE-League for the past three seasons, consistently at or near the bottom of the table. The women’s side in Singapore started in 2022 and has finished runner-up in the Singapore Premier League during their three seasons in the league.

According to the Singapore Women’s Premier League, there were 30 registered players from abroad (though some are from the diaspora of these nations as Singapore is such a vibrant regional business headquarters for many large companies) across the 9 teams:

Japan 6

United States 5

England 3

France 3

Canada 2

Thailand 2

Australia 1

China 1

Germany 1

India 1

Malaysia 1

Mexico 1

Philippines 1

Seychelles 1

Wales 1

At the national team level, the Singapore Women’s National Team in March took 26 players to a 10-day training camp in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as part of their preparation for upcoming official competitions, including the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand. The young side, with an average age of 22.3 years, played closed-door friendly matches with local clubs: two-time reigning Saudia Arabia Premier League Champions Al-Nassr and Qasedeya in early April. 

Singapore’s WNT Head Coach Karim Bencherifa (56) is a former player in his native Morocco and has managed primarily men’s teams at home and in Brunei, Singapore, India, Malta and Guinea; he took charge of Singapore’s WNT in 2023 and told the FAS media channel that the training camp marks the initiation of the team’s strategic plan for 2025: “This year is divided into two distinct phases: the first half focuses on intensive training to enhance fitness levels and refine players’ skills across all aspects of the game, while the second half involves participating in international matches.

"During this camp, which is part of the initial phase, we will conduct two training sessions daily. The first session will take place indoors to focus on physical conditioning through gym work, while the second session, held in the evening, will be on the field for practical skill development. Additionally, the two practice matches will also help to simulate game scenarios and assess our progress. Furthermore, we recognize the importance of holistic player development. Therefore, we will organize two lectures on nutrition and the significance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, we will facilitate team bonding sessions to foster camaraderie and cohesion among players.”

Two players—Tanjong Pagar United’s goalkeeper Elizabeth Tan, as well as Albirex Niigata (S)’s midfielder Nahwah Aidilreza—were called up to the national team set-up for the first time.

A few players were making a national team return with this camp: defender Angelyn Pang is a former Lioness captain who was last called up in 2018 while defender Nadhra Aqilah of Albirex Niigata S returns after a year’s absence due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Joining them are four overseas-based players, three in colleges abroad with two in the U.S. and one in Scotland, while another plays in Australia in the Victoria State League.

Note: Singapore fell to Al Nassr 4-1 on April 3 and tied Al Qadsiah 0-0 on April 6, with both games in Dammam. They then travelled to Jakarta and fell to Indonesia 5-1 before defeating Macau 9-0 at home on July 16 with a hat trick from Danelle Tan (19), who has played at home with Still Aerion and Lion City Sailors. It was the nation’s first win since defeating Pakistan 1-0 at home in July of 2023 on a goal by Farah Nurzahirah nine minutes before full time.

Danelle Tan has also played with London Bees in England and with Landesliga (fifth tier) Borussia Dortmund in Germany, scoring 16 goals in 27 matches as they won promotion, spurning a college scholarship at the College of William and Mary in Virginia to go to Germany and has since signed with Australia’s A-League Women side Brisbane Roar for the 2024-25 season. She scored her first goal at age 14 for Singapore on August 15, 2019 in a 2-1 loss to East Timor in the AFF Regional Tournament (ASEAN) in Thailand. It will be very interesting to see her play this winter in the A-League, which typically uses a lot of teenagers, with Brisbane Roar in particular known as a club that plays and develops youth players.

NWSL Summer Signings

Kansas City Current

Kansas City, so dynamic this season under new head coach Vlatko Andonovski after he was released by the USWNT following last summer’s shockingly benign under-performing 2023 WWC, has signed another top international in German goalkeeper Almuth Schult (33). Schult started her career with German Third Division side Magdeburger FFC in 2008. In 2009, she helped the club move up to the second division 2. Frauen Bundesliga. Schult then moved to Germany’s first division with SC 07 Bad Neuenahr in 2011 and then joined VFL Wolfsburg in 2013. In her first season, she led Wolfsburg to a UEFA Champions League title that first season and then appeared in two more Champions League finals over the next nine seasons.

She had 186 appearances for Wolfsburg across all competitions, leading the team to eight DFB-Pokal der Frauen (Cup) titles and six Frauen-Bundesliga league championships. After a brief NWSL stint with Angel City in 2022, where she appeared in only one game, Schult returned home to Germany where she gave birth to her third child, missing the 2023 WWC Finals while on maternity leave. In April of this year, Schult signed with Hamburger SV in the second division as she worked to get her fitness back. She was able to sign outside of the transfer window thanks to new FIFA regulations that provide flexibility following maternity leave.

Schult is also well-known across Germany for her work in the broadcast booth as an analyst on German television channel ARD and has covered games for the Bundesliga and DFB (internationals).

Internationally, she started playing with Germany’s U-19 team in 2008. Two years later she led the U-20 team to a U-20 World Cup title at home in Germany. In 2011, Schult earned a roster spot with Germany’s senior team for the 2011 FIFA World Cup in Germany. She started her first game for Germany the next year in a friendly against Turkey.

She also was on the 2013 Women’s EURO title winning side in Sweden and the 2015 WWC side in Canada that finished fourth to England. She took over the starting role as the first-choice goalkeeper prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she played every minute and led the team to the country’s first Women’s Soccer Gold Medal. She also started in the 2019 WWC. She gave birth to twins in 2020 before returning in time to make the EURO Finals roster in the COVID-delayed 2022 tournament in England, where Germany lost 2-1 to host nation England in overtime at Wembley in the Final.

Schult will have to battle NWSL veteran and two time League Goalkeeper of the Year Adrianna Franch (33) for the starting job. Franch was on the 2019 WWC Winning side for the Americans and won Olympic Bronze in 2021 in Tokyo. Franch could be on the move around the league, where she is highly respected.

This summer, the Current also signed Kenyan international forward Mwanalima Adam Jereko (26), commonly referred to as Jereko, to a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026. She began playing professionally in high school with the Mombasa Olympic Ladies before joining top Kenyan Premier League Team Thika Queens FC in 2018 ,who she led to the league title and won the Golden Boot title in the league as the top scorer.

In 2021, she moved to Hakkarigücü Spor of the Turkish Super League, where last season she scored 23 goals, including two hat tricks, and is the team captain. For Kenya she helped the country make its first CECAFA (The Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations) regional Women's Championship finals in 2019. She was first selected for the Harambee Starlets U-17 youth side in 2015.

In August, Kansas City brought in another top African forward in South African international Hildah Magaia (29) on loan for a fee from Mazatlán of the Liga MX Femenil Wednesday. Magaia’s loan lasts through the 2024 season, but Kansas City can acquire her rights on a permanent basis at the conclusion of the loan period. At home with the WNT she is known “Breadwinner” among fans because of her proficient goal-scoring record.

Magaia scored South Africa’s second-ever FIFA World Cup Finals goal in 2023 against Sweden and then scored in South Africa’s upset win over Italy on the final day of group stage play to clinch a spot in the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in South Africa’s history. Magaia earned the Player of the Tournament and Golden Ball awards at the 2020 COSAFA regional Women’s Championship for the champion Banyana Banyana side. In the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Magaia again received the Golden Boot award, scoring both goals in the championship victory over Morocco as South Africa secured their first-ever WAFCON title.

Magaia played for Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) at home as a student. She guided the TUT Ladies squad to top-flight promotion in 2018, earning the Sasol League’s Diski Queen Award as the league’s Most Valuable Player. Then in the top league with TUT, she scored 36 goals during the 2019-20 SAFA Women’s League season and tied for the league’s Golden Boot. She then signed with Swedish club Morön BK, scoring five goals in her first four games and 12 in 18 games in the 2021 regular season, before signing with South Korean top league side Sejong Sportstoto in 2022. In 2023, Magaia scored a team-high nine goals in 21 appearances for Sejong Sportstoto.

She joined Liga MX Femenil club Mazatlan in January 2024 and scored four goals for the team at the tail end of the 2023-2024 Liga MX Femenil Clausura tournament. Her successes on and off the pitch yielded her a spot on the Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 List in 2024. Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said about Magaia’s signing: “We have been watching Hildah play for some time and we’re very happy that we can bring her to Kansas City now. We feel that she can be a great part of this team going forward.”

Portland Thorns

The Thorns had a major international signing during the summer FIFA Transfer window in Australian international goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold (30), who joined the team after the 2024 Olympic Games Finals, where she was the starting keeper for the Matildas. She is under contract through the 2026 season with a mutual player and Thorns team option for 2027. Arnold was a finalist in 2023 for FIFA’s Goalkeeper of the Year after starring for the Matildas last summer in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at home, posting four shutouts in seven games, including making four saves during the penalty shootout quarterfinal win over France. Since making her Australia National Team debut in 2012, Arnold has appeared in over 50 matches for her country.

Arnold joined Portland from West Ham United in the WSL, where she played for four seasons and appeared in over 75 matches across all competitions. Like Portuguese international forward Jessica Silva who joined Gotham FC (see our previous column a few weeks ago with the link above), Arnold previously had a short stint in the NWSL in 2019 with the Chicago Red Stars, but did not make any appearances. Additionally, she spent the first part of the 2019 season with Arna-Bjørnar in Norway.

In Australia in the A-League Women, she played with Perth Glory, Canberra United, Western Sydney Wanderers and Brisbane Roar throughout the W-League, winning the Premiership (regular season titles) in 2014 and 2017-2018 with Perth and Brisbane, respectively. In addition, Arnold was named the W-League Goalkeeper of the Year on three occasions: in the 2012-13, 2014 and 2017-18 seasons.

Reilyn Turner (21) came to the Thorns this summer in the Janine Beckie trade to Racing Louisville (see below). Turner was Racing’s first-round pick (#6 overall) in this year’s NWSL Draft from UCLA. She has been a revelation this season for Racing and had five goals and two assists in 19 appearances across all competitions. Turner is definitely one to watch in the future for the Thorns on an already dynamic front line with consistent American scorers Sophia Smith and Morgan Weaver 

Racing Louisville 

Racing Louisville signed Colombia national team defender Ángela Barón through the 2026 season for future considerations with Atlético Nacional of Colombia’s top women’s league. The Texas native has been featured in Colombia’s squads at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and this year’s Summer Olympics. Colombia reached the quarterfinals in both tournaments. The started every game of the FIFA Women’s 2022 Under-20 World Cup, helping Colombia win its group and reach the quarterfinals, and she led Colombia to the 2022 South American U-20 Women’s Championship in Chile, finishing second in the final four team group to Brazil. 

Baron said about her move: “I’m looking forward to being a part of this club. I have been since the moment I was able to meet the staff over a Zoom call. I know it’s a place where I’ll not only grow as a player but most importantly as a person. I can’t wait for what’s to come!” Racing head coach Bev Yanez said: “Angela is a player we have been tracking for a while. Her ability and vision on the ball while building out in our system were big reasons we felt confident in bringing her to our group. We are excited to have her here in purple.”

Barón is joining Colombian international teammate Elexa Bahr in Louisville. Bahr scored a goal and added an assist in her NWSL debut in a draw with Orlando on March 16; she became the first player to do that in eight years since former Houston Dash and England international Rachel Daly did it in 2016.

Baron grew up in Texas and played one season at the University of Arizona. Baron signed last year with Atlético Nacional in Colombia, where she helped the Bogota club qualify for the Copa Libertadores Femenina in 2023 and win the first stage Apertura of the Colombian first division in 2024.

Racing Louisville also acquired Canadian national team forward Janine Beckie (30) in a trade with the Portland Thorns, who signed a two-year contract extension with Racing through the 2026 season. In exchange, Portland landed rookie forward Reilyn Turner in exchange (see above). Beckie won a Gold Medal with Canada at the 2020 Olympics in Japan, which were played in 2021 due to COVID-19, and a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

She’s played in two FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals and the 2014 U-20 WWC in Canada. The winger has made 109 appearances for the Canadian national team, tallying 36 goals and 17 assists. Over multiple seasons with the NWSL’s Houston Dash, Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC (before they became Gotham FC), Beckie has eight goals and seven assists in 86 games. At Manchester City, Beckie had 12 goals and 12 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions, including six goals and an assist in eight UEFA Women’s Champions League games. She helped Man City reach its first UWCL quarterfinal in 2021. In 2022, Beckie won the NWSL championship with Portland. She won two FA Cups and two League Cups in England with Manchester City. Off the field, she is a co-owner of League1 Ontario club Simcoe County Rovers FC on the men’s and women’s side.

Utah Royals

Spanish international midfielder Claudia Zornoza (33) joined Utah Royals FC after playing her final season with Real Madrid in 2023-24, where she scored four goals and added four assists in 28 matches for Liga F’s second place side last season behind Liga F and UEFA WCL winners Barcelona. Zornoza was on Spain’s 2023 Women’s World Cup winning side last year. This is a big signing for a club that honestly, has been utterly directionless in their first year of coming back into the NWSL She should help connect the defense and the attack for the Royals, which has been quite week this season.

Another new signing is Japanese international forward Mina Tanaka (29) from INAC Kobe Leonessa of Japan’s WE-League, where she has played 58 matches and scored 37 goals. She played in Japan for 13 seasons, appearing for Tokyo Verdy Beleza from 2011-2019 and then INAC Kobe Leonessa from 2020-2024, with a ten match stint on loan in Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in 2020. Tanaka is a proven goal scorer, having won the Nadeshiko League Golden Boot title four times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019).

She was also named to Nadeshiko League Best XI five times (2015, 2016, 2017), and won back-to-back Nadeshiko League Best Player Awards in 2018 and 2019. Tanaka has scored 211 times in 308 total club appearances as well as 30 goals in 74 senior international appearances. She has been on Japan’s last two Olympic Games Finals side and the 2023 WWC Final side.

Yet more help has come to Utah’s anemic front line (scoring only 14 regular season goals in 20 matches thus far this season) with very highly rated Canadian international forward Cloe Lacasse (31) joining from Arsenal of the WSL, where she had five goals and two assists in 23 games across all competitions in her one season at the club.

She has signed through the 2027 and Utah had to acquire another international roster spot from Gotham FC for $100,000 in allocation money in order to sign her. Collegiately she played at the University of Iowa, tying the school record of 112 points (43 goals and 26 assists) in 85 games, with 13 of those goals being game-winning which is second all-time in Iowa school history. She then went to Iceland and played four seasons at IBV, scoring 57 goals in 98 matches and then moved to Portugal’s Benfica and spent four years, scoring 72 goals for the dominate side in the country.

At the international level, Lacasse made her senior debut for Canada on November 27, 2021 in a friendly against Mexico and was named Canada’s Player of the Match. She represented Canada in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Lacasse most recently appeared in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, earning two starts and appearing off the bench once in Canada’s run to the quarter final match.

Cloe Lacasse (who has one goal in four regular season matches for Utah since joining the team late in August) is a very good signing by Utah along with Zornoza (who also has one goal in four matches with the Royals) and Tanaka to galvanize the attack.

Washington Spirit

Ivory Coast international forward Rosemonde Kouassi came to the D.C. Spirit from French side FC Fleury 91. Kouassi will join the Spirit on a four-year contract. She first turned pro as a teenager with Juventus Yopougon in the Ivory Coast before eventually joining the French Première Ligue side Fleury 91 during the 2021-22 season. In her last two seasons with FC Fleury 91, Kouassi netted 15 goals and tallied eight assists. Kouassi earned her first call-up to the senior team for Olympic qualifying prior to the Tokyo Games in 2020.

Colombian international midfielder Leicy Santos is also coming to the nation’s capital city. Santos is major acquisition from Atletico Madrid of Spain and has signed a three year deal with the Spirit. She scored a goal in her first regular season game with the club—a 4-1 dispatching of the high-flying Kansas City Current in D.C. at Audi Field on August 25 and has scored two goals in four regular season matches with the Spirit.

Santos scored a stunning goal at last summer’s WWC against England’s Mary Earps in the quarterfinals that Colombia narrowly lost 2-1 in a tremendous run in the tournament. She has 43 appearances for the Colombian senior national team since 2014. She represented Las Cafeteras in each of the federation’s last two Women’s World Cup appearances in 2015 and 2023—Colombia first appeared at the World Finals in 2011 in Germany.

Since joining Atlético Madrid in 2019, Santos has appeared in over 100 league matches for the side, totaling 17 goals and 16 assists. Santos also appeared in the Champions League with Atlético Madrid in each of her first two seasons at the club, helping the team reach the quarterfinals in 2020 and the round of 16 in 2021. Prior to Atlético Madrid, Santos played for Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia’s Liga Professional Femenina from 2017 to 2019.

Originally from the town of Lorica, Colombia, Santos grew up playing soccer on boys’ teams before going to Bogotá to train with Besser Football Club at just 12 years old. Santos’ family eventually moved full-time to Bogotá to allow her to continue training at a high level. She moved to the United States in 2015 to play at the collegiate level for Iowa Central Community College, winning a national championship in her only year at the school before turning pro.

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football.  His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football.  Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey