Vivienne Lia

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Vivienne Lia
Personal information
Full name Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia [1]
Date of birth (2006-09-27) 27 September 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth England
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Arsenal
Number 37
Youth career
Whetstone Wanderers
Arsenal
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025– Arsenal 0 (0)
2025Southampton (loan) 9 (0)
2025–2026Nottingham Forest (loan) 0 (0)
International career
2022–2023 England U17 5 (2)
2024– England U19 18 (4)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 May 2025 [2]
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 June 2025 [3]

Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia (born 27 September 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Women's Super League 2 club Nottingham Forest on loan from Women's Super League club Arsenal and the England Under-19 national team.

Contents

Early life

Lia grew up in North London, as the youngest of five siblings, [4] and is a life-long Arsenal fan. [5] She joined Whetstone Wanderers at the age of 10, followed by the Arsenal Women's Academy at the age of 14. [4] Lia made 4 appearances for the academy team in the 2023–24 season, scoring one goal. [1]

Club career

Arsenal

Lia made her senior debut for Arsenal at the age of 17 on 14 February 2024 against London City Lionesses in the quarter-finals of the Women's League Cup, replacing Katie McCabe in the 82nd minute. [6] She then made her second appearance for the Gunners in their League Cup semi-final, a 4–0 win over Aston Villa, coming on in the 90th minute to replace Frida Maanum. [7]

Lia started for the Gunners in their 2024 post-season 1–0 win against A-League All-Stars Women, providing the assist for the only goal of the game, scored by fellow striker Alessia Russo. [8] [9] Later in the summer, Lia started in Arsenal's first pre-season match against Washington Spirit, before being replaced by Steph Catley in the 78th minute. [10]

Lia signed her first professional contract with Arsenal on 14 January 2025. [11] [12]

Southampton F.C. (loan)

On 18 January 2025, Women's Championship side Southampton F.C. announced that Lia had signed on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season, [13] where she went on to make 9 appearances across all competitions for the club. [2]

Nottingham Forest (loan)

On 3 September 2025, Arsenal announced that Lia would spend the 2025-26 season on loan at Nottingham Forest. [14]

International career

Lia has represented the England under-17 and under-19 national teams.

Lia received her first under-17 call-up in October 2022 for the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification rounds, [15] which saw England play Ukraine, hosts Estonia, and Denmark. She scored her first goal at Under-17 level in a 10 - 0 win against Ukraine. [16] Lia was then named in the squad for the second qualifying round, [17] which saw England claim their place at the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship Finals but did not make the Finals squad.

Over a year after her last England call-up, Lia received her first Under-19 call-up in April 2024. Named by head coach John Griffiths for the second round of the under-19 Championship qualification, [18] she helped the youth team qualify for the finals of the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Lia then featured in the squad for the finals of the 2024 European Championship, [19] in which England were knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain. [20]

Lia was selected for both round one and round two of qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, [21] [22] scoring three goals in the second round to help England qualify for the Finals tournament. [3] In February 2025, she was again called up to the under-19 squad, alongside Saints teammates Araya Dennis and Laila Harbert, for the Albir Garden Tournament. [23] In June 2025, new manager Lauren Smith announced her squad for the finals of the 2025 European Under-19 Championship in Poland, with Lia's name down as one of 6 young Arsenal players. [24]

Style of play

A speedy and skillful winger, [4] she is versatile and can also play at right-back when required. [25] [26] Lia describes herself as "quite direct and creative". [27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 4 May 2025 [2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueLeague CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2023–24 Women's Super League 002020
Southampton (loan) 2024–25 Women's Championship 9090
Career total9020110

    References

    1. 1 2 "Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia player stats | Professional Game Academy League". The FA . Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    2. 1 2 3 Vivienne Lia at Soccerway
    3. 1 2 Vivienne Lia at Flashscore.com
    4. 1 2 3 "Young Gun: Vivienne Lia". Young Gun: Vivienne Lia. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
    5. Heil, Meredith (27 August 2024). "Arsenal Stars Michelle Agyemang and Viv Lia's Academy Journeys". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    6. Holbrook, Emma (14 February 2024). "Report: London City Lionesses 0-4 Arsenal".
    7. Holbrook, Emma (6 March 2024). "Report: Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa Women".
    8. Hurley, Lee (25 May 2024). "Arsenal forward admits losing love for football before joining Gunners". Daily Cannon. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    9. Vinall, Marnie (24 May 2024). "Russo goal proves the difference as Arsenal beat A-League All Stars 1-0 at Marvel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    10. Holbrook, Emma (18 August 2024). "Report: Washington Spirit 1-2 Arsenal".
    11. Arsenal, Media (14 January 2025). "Vivienne Lia signs professional contract".
    12. "Vivienne Lia: Arsenal winger joins Southampton on loan". BBC Sport. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    13. "Women sign Arsenal youngster Vivienne Lia on loan | Southampton FC | News". www.southamptonfc.com. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
    14. "Vivienne Lia joins Nottingham Forest on loan". Vivienne Lia joins Nottingham Forest on loan. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
    15. Davies, Callum (30 September 2022). "England WU23s, WU19s and WU17s squads named for October internationals".
    16. UEFA.com. "Ukraine-England | Women's Under-17 2023". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
    17. Veevers, Nicholas (9 March 2023). "England WU17s squad set for EURO qualifiers in Croatia".
    18. McHugh, Beth (2 April 2024). "England WU19s squad named for EURO qualifiers".
    19. McHugh, Beth (8 July 2024). "England WU19 squad named for EUROs".
    20. UEFA.com. "England-Spain | Women's Under-19 2024". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
    21. McHugh, Beth (20 November 2024). "England WU19s begin bid for EURO qualification".
    22. McHugh, Beth (26 March 2025). "England WU19s squad named for EURO qualifiers".
    23. Rees-Julian, George (12 February 2025). "Saints trio called into England U19 squad for Albir Garden Tournament". Daily Echo. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    24. McHugh, Beth (10 June 2025). "England WU19s squad named for EURO Finals".
    25. Puodzius, Sophie (18 January 2025). "Arsenal rising star Vivienne Lia joins Southampton FC on loan". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    26. Cardy, Freddie (24 May 2025). "Player Ratings: Youngsters impress as Arsenal Women win post-season friendly". Online Gooner. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
    27. "Viv Lia: Saints' young Gunner talks life on loan | Southampton FC | News". www.southamptonfc.com. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.