Naomi Girma

Last updated

Naomi Girma
Naomi Girma (cropped 2).jpg
Girma with the San Diego Wave in 2023
Personal information
Full name Naomi Haile Girma [1]
Date of birth (2000-06-14) June 14, 2000 (age 24) [2]
Place of birth San Jose, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) [3]
Position(s) Center back
Team information
Current team
 Chelsea
Number 16
Youth career
2010–2017 [4] Central Valley Crossfire
2015–2018 [5] [6] Pioneer HS Mustangs
2016–2018 De Anza Force
2016–2018 California Thorns FC
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2018–2021 Stanford Cardinal 68 (8)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022–2024 San Diego Wave 61 (0)
2025– Chelsea 0 (0)
International career‡
2016 United States U17
2017 United States U19
2017–2020 United States U20
2022– United States 44 (2)
Medal record
Women's soccer
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Paris Team
CONCACAF W Gold Cup
Winner 2024 United States
CONCACAF W Championship
Winner 2022 Mexico
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 30, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 3, 2024

Naomi Haile Girma (born June 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the United States national team.

Contents

Girma played college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal, which she captained to the 2019 national championship. San Diego Wave FC selected her first overall in the 2022 NWSL Draft. She won NWSL Rookie of the Year and was named NWSL Defender of the Year in both of her first two seasons, helping lead San Diego to the NWSL Shield in 2023. In 2025, she signed with Chelsea for a reported $1.1 million transfer fee, a women's soccer world record.

Girma played for the United States at the under-17, under-19, and under-20 levels before making her senior debut in 2022. She was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023. She won gold with the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, playing every minute of the tournament.

Early life and college career

Girma was born in San Jose, California, to parents Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, both Ethiopian immigrants who met in the Bay Area. [7] [4] [8] She has one brother, Nathaniel, who is three years older. [9] Her family speaks both Amharic and English. [4] [8] In her youth, Girma played for Maleda Soccer Club, a local club formed by her father for the Ethiopian community in the Bay Area in 2005. She attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following in her brother's footsteps in sports. [4] [8] She also practiced gymnastics for five years before settling on soccer in middle school. [8]

Girma joined local youth club Central Valley Crossfire in 2010, after impressing coaches during a practice to which a friend invited her, and played there until its dissolution in 2017. Playing under Crossfire coach Bob Joyce, Girma was encouraged to participate in Olympic Development Program events and was called into the United States under-14 national team camp. She subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force, [4] and also played for the California Thorns Academy [3] [10] [8] and Pioneer High School. [7] [8] She committed to play college soccer at Stanford University when she was a sophomore. [11] She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the fifth-best college prospect of the 2018 class and part of Stanford's top-ranked cohort alongside Sophia Smith. [12]

Stanford Cardinal

Girma played all but one game for the Stanford Cardinal in her freshman season in 2018, making 23 appearances (22 starts), [3] featuring alongside senior Alana Cook in central defense. [13] The reigning national champions finished the regular season undefeated, claiming the Pac-12 Conference for the fourth time in a row. [14] In the NCAA tournament, Girma played every minute for No. 1–seeded Stanford, [3] scoring her first two college goals in their 4–1 win against Ole Miss in the second round, [15] as they reached the semifinals, losing 2–0 to eventual champions No. 1 Florida State. [16] She was named to the All-Pac-12 third team, Pac-12 all-freshman team, and TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI first team at the end of the season. [3]

Girma (right) playing for Stanford in 2019 Penn State Women's Soccer, Stanford, Linnehan (12) 1 (cropped).jpg
Girma (right) playing for Stanford in 2019

Girma became team captain and started all 25 games in her sophomore season in 2019, playing every minute of all but five games, [3] mostly alongside senior Sam Hiatt. [17] Stanford lost only one non-conference game in the regular season on the way to their fifth consecutive Pac-12 championship, [18] with Girma scoring in the last two games of the regular season. [3] In the NCAA tournament, No. 1 seeds Stanford advanced to the title game after a 4–1 win against No. 2 UCLA in the semfinals. Girma helped hold No. 1 North Carolina to a 0–0 draw after extra time, before scoring her penalty kick in the resulting shootout as Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer made two penalty saves to bring Stanford their third national title. [19] Girma was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player along with earning Pac-12 Defender of the Year, first-team All-Pac-12, and first-team All-American honors. [3]

Girma missed her entire junior season, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, after tearing her ACL. [20] During her recovery, she applied to and was accepted into the Mayfield Fellows Program for entrepreneurship at Stanford. [4]

Girma returned to action as a senior in the fall of 2021, starting all 20 games and playing every minute of all but four of them. [3] Stanford finished the season fourth in the Pac-12 Conference, [21] losing to Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA tournament. [22] Despite the down season, Girma was named Pac-12 Defender of the Year, first-team All-Pac-12, and first-team All-American, all for the second time. [3] Following the season, she decided to forgo her remaining college eligibility and declared for the 2022 NWSL Draft. [23] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in symbolic systems in 2022 [24] and continued pursuing a master's degree in management science and engineering after becoming a professional soccer player. [4]

Club career

San Diego Wave

Girma with the Wave in 2024 NC Courage vs SD Wave (Oct 2024) 056.jpg
Girma with the Wave in 2024

Expansion side San Diego Wave FC selected Girma with the first overall pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft. [4] She made her professional debut in the Wave's inaugural game on March 19, 2022, starting in a 1–1 draw against Angel City FC in the group stage of the NWSL Challenge Cup. [25] She started 19 games in the 2022 regular season, [26] featuring primarily alongside Kaleigh Riehl in central defense after Abby Dahlkemper was injured. [27] San Diego placed third in the league, becoming the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in their first season. [28] In the playoffs, they beat the Chicago Red Stars 2–1 in the quarterfinals before losing to the Portland Thorns 2–1 in the semifinals. [29] During her rookie season, Girma was named in the NWSL Best XI of the Month four times and voted NWSL Rookie of the Month two times. She was also named in the end-of-year NWSL Best XI First Team [30] and received both the NWSL Rookie of the Year and NWSL Defender of the Year awards, becoming the first NWSL player to win multiple end-of-year individual awards in her rookie season, [31] and was nominated for NWSL Most Valuable Player, losing to Sophia Smith. [32]

On June 14, 2023, the Wave announced that they had signed Girma to a new contract through 2026. [33] She started 19 games during the 2023 regular season, [34] helping the team concede only 22 goals throughout the season (second in the NWSL). [35] San Diego won the NWSL Shield with the league's best record, but they lost 1–0 to OL Reign in the semifinals. [36] Girma was named in the NWSL Best XI of the Month three times during the season. [37] At the end of the year, she was named in the NWSL Best XI First Team and won NWSL Defender of the Year for a second year in a row, becoming the second player to win the award multiple times after Becky Sauerbrunn. [38]

Girma helped the Shield holders win the season-opening 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup, shutting out defending playoff champions NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 on March 17, 2024. [39] She played in a career-high 20 games in the 2024 regular season, [40] but the Wave struggled to repeat their success, finishing 10th of 14 teams and missing the playoffs for the first time. [41] Girma was named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month two times and the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the year, [42] and was again nominated for NWSL Defender of the Year, losing to Emily Sams. [43]

Chelsea

On January 26, 2025, Women's Super League club Chelsea announced that they had signed Girma on a four-and-a-half-year deal, unveiling her to fans on the same day before their league match against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. [44] The transfer fee was reported to be approximately $1.1 million (£890,000), breaking the world record for a women's soccer transfer and making Girma the first ever women's player to be sold for over $1 million. [45]

International career

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg ESPN: Naomi's Girma's journey to the USWNT retrieved July 23, 2023

Girma has competed on the United States under-17, under-19 and under-20 and senior national teams. [3] She captained the under-20 team to win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship under head coach Laura Harvey. [4] [46] In December 2020, Girma won the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award. [4] [46] [47] [48]

Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury. [49] She was called up again in October 2020. [50] [51] She debuted for the senior national team on April 12, 2022, in an international friendly against Uzbekistan. [52] She also appeared in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, and registered an assist on a goal by Sophia Smith against Jamaica during the tournament. [53]

In June 2023, Girma was named to the US squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. [54] She was a starting defender during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 shutout. [55] During the first half, she started the sequence that led to the U.S.' second goal by lobbing the ball into the box to Alex Morgan who headed it to scorer Sophia Smith. [55] Girma was named U.S. Soccer's 2023 Female Player of the Year, becoming the first defender to win the award in its history as she was a part of a defense that allowed an average of just 0.17 goals per game during the year, the best in team history. [56]

In 2024, Girma was called up to represent the US at the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and 2024 SheBelieves Cup. [57] [58] Girma was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. [59] She was widely praised throughout the tournament as the team's most important player. [60] [61] She was the only field player to play every minute of the tournament through to the gold medal game against Brazil, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson. [60] [62] She scored her first and second international goals in a friendly match against Argentina on October 30, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. [63] In December 2024 she was voted by The Guardian at the 10th place among the top 100 women's soccer players in the world. [64]

Style of play

Considered one of the best center backs in the world, [65] [66] [67] Girma is known for her composure, intelligence, and leadership. [68] [69] She was previously a central or defensive midfielder in her youth before being converted to center back at a youth national team camp. [70] [71] She anticipates play and positions herself well to thwart attackers and can use her speed to beat opponents one-on-one. [70] [72] [73] She has good technical ability and passes well to set up plays. [69] [71] [72] In 2024, United States head coach Emma Hayes said Girma was "the best defender I've ever seen". [61]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played November 30, 2024 [74] [75]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] League cup [b] ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
San Diego Wave FC 2022 NWSL 190—60—2 [c] 0270
2023 NWSL190—20—1 [c] 0220
2024 NWSL230——2 [d] 01 [e] 0260
Total61000802040750
Chelsea 2024–25 Women's Super League 00000000—00
Career total61000902040750
  1. ↑ includes Women's FA Cup
  2. ↑ includes NWSL Challenge Cup, Women's League Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearance(s) in the NWSL Playoffs
  4. ↑ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF W Champions Cup
  5. ↑ Appearance(s) in NWSL Challenge Cup, cup format changed to a single-game supercup tournament

International

As of match played December 3, 2024 [76]
National TeamYearAppsGoals
United States 2022 100
2023 160
2024 182
Total442
International goals scored by Naomi Girma
No.CapDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef.
142October 30, 2024 Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 1–03–0Friendly [63]
23–0

Honors

Stanford Cardinal

San Diego Wave

United States U17

United States U20

United States

Individual

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