| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kaila Lillyanna Novak | ||
| Date of birth | March 24, 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | London, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AFC Toronto | ||
| Youth career | |||
| St. Thomas SC | |||
| FC London | |||
| Ontario REX | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | UCLA Bruins | 31 | (1) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2017 | FC London | 12 | (8) |
| 2024–2025 | Durham | 18 | (1) |
| 2025– | AFC Toronto | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Canada U17 | 14 | (2) |
| 2020–2022 | Canada U20 | 14 | (5) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of July 18, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of August 17, 2022 | |||
Kaila Lillyanna "Kai" Novak (born March 24, 2002) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for AFC Toronto in the Northern Super League.
Novak began playing youth soccer at age four with St. Thomas SC. [1] She later played with FC London. [2] She later joined the Ontario REX program. [3]
In 2020, Novak began attending the University of California, Los Angeles, where she played for the women's soccer team. [4] On March 26, 2021, she scored her first collegiate goal in a 2-1 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils. [5] After her first season, she was named to the Pac-12 Conference All-Freshman Team. [6] She was named to the Academic Honour Roll for both her seasons. [4] She opted out of playing soccer for her senior season. [7]
In 2016, she began playing with FC London in League1 Ontario.
In August 2024, Novak signed with English club Durham in the Women's Championship. [8] [9] She scored her first goal against the Blackburn Rovers. [10] She departed the club following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, having scored 3 goals across 24 appearances for the club. [11] Following her departure from Durham, she spent time training with with London City Lionesses, Crystal Palace FC, and Angel City FC, [12] also playing in the 7v7 The Soccer Tournament 2025 with Angel City 7s in 2025. [13]
In September 2025, she signed with Northern Super League club AFC Toronto. [12]
Novak was born in Canada, to a Czech father and an English mother. [14]
In June 2017, she was called up to the Canadian national program for the first time, for a camp with the Canada U17 team. [1] The following month, she was named to the roster for a Four Nations tournament in China, where she appeared in all three matches . [15] In April 2018, she was named to the roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship. [16] She scored two goals in the first match in a 3-0 victory over Bermuda U17. However, after the first two matches of the tournament, the tournament was suspended due to riots in Nicaragua, [17] [18] with her later returning to the squad for the remainder of the tournament in June in the United States, ultimately winning a bronze medal. [19] [1] Afterwards, she played with the squad at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. [20]
In July 2019, Novak was named to the Canada U20 team for a series of three friendly matches in England. [21] She was then named to the roster for the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship (winning bronze) and the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. [1]
In 2020, Novak began posting videos on TikTok, during the COVID-19 pandemic while at UCLA reviewing food. [7] [22] She quickly amassed over a million followers. [23] [24] She became the 2nd most followed female soccer athlete on the app. [25]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FC London | 2016 [26] | League1 Ontario | 2 | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2017 [27] | 10 | 7 | — | — | ? | 1 | 11+ | 8 | ||||
| Total | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+ | 1 | 13+ | 9 | ||
| Durham | 2024–25 | Women's Championship | 18 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 3 | |
| Career total | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+ | 3 | 37+ | 12 | ||