Who are the imports for each team in the 2021-22 A-League Women’s (ALW) competition? Beyond 90’s Steffen Moebus runs a rule over each team and their international cohort, as well as what the inclusion of imports has meant historically for the competition over the years.
Let’s first agree on the definition of an import. Australian citizens are not regarded as imports no matter their overseas playing history (Adelaide United’s Natasha Brough and Paige Hayward are examples of citizens with overseas playing experience under their belts before entering the ALW).
Notably, there are two examples of Australian citizens who have chosen to represent another national team: Melbourne City’s Rebekah Stott (over 70 caps for New Zealand) and Tyla-Jay Vlajnic (one cap for Serbia).
Overseas-born players who are currently Australian citizens, such as Brisbane Roar’s Cannon Clough (born in the USA), are also obviously not regarded as imports.
The introduction of Wellington Phoenix to the competition adds a new dimension to the ‘what is an import’ question. For the purposes of this article, Aussies playing in the Phoenix team will not be regarded as imports, but Kiwis playing in other teams are (an example being Melbourne City’s Hannah Wilkinson). Under the terms of Wellington’s entry into the competition, at least seven of their players must be Australian.
New Zealand has contributed 24 players to the competition since its inception, only bettered by the United States of America (with a whopping 98 players). Those who have played for more than two A-League Women’s seasons include:
- Emma Kete – Perth Glory – 2010-11, Canberra United – 2011-2012, 2015–16, Sydney FC – 2012–14
- Annalie Longo – Sydney FC – 2012–13, Melbourne Victory – 2019–21
- Marlies Oostdam – Melbourne Victory – 2008–11
- Rebekah Stott – Brisbane Roar – 2010–11, Melbourne Victory – 2011–13, Melbourne City – 2015–20, 2021–22
Rules around imports per season
Teams are allowed to field five foreign players in total: four with full season contracts, and one as a guest player. A guest player is defined as a player who is limited to seven games in a season; they do not need to be foreign (as in the case of Karly Roestbakken, who is returning to Norwegian football in early January), so clubs can conceivably have more than one guest player. The seven games may be non-consecutive, which can lead to some interesting juggling for coaches and consequences for teams.
Guest player Kendall Fletcher missed the 2014/15 Grand Final for Canberra United due to her appearance in the semi-final being her seventh. (The season following, the number of allowable full-season visa players was expanded from three to four). It worked out well for United that season with a memorable 1-3 grand final win over Perth Glory and a 15 year old Grace Maher famously stepping up. However, their 2018/19 campaign was arguably derailed following the departure of Irish import Denise O’Sullivan as the 2018 calendar year ended, and the team in green missed out on finals.
There are many examples of foreign players aiming to enhance their visibility, reputation and/or national team prospects with a stint in the Australian competition. Abby Dahlkemper went on to cement a US national team place following her stint with Adelaide United in the 2015/16 season, while the 2018/19 campaign saw Sofia Huerta switch to a defensive role with Sydney FC in an attempt to make the US World Cup squad.
Lynn Williams showed that being on the national team radar can be both a blessing and a curse for clubs. In 2019/20 she missed the start of WSW’s season due to national team duties, and then was called into a US national team camp just as ALW finals were getting underway. The loss of Williams and O’Sullivan (a guest player for the Wanderers that season) proved too much for Western Sydney to overcome as they were pummeled 5-1 in the semi-final by eventual champions Melbourne City.
The mix of nations in 2021/22
In the 2021/22 A-League Women’s competition, 26 players from ten different nations are regarded as imports.
One of the PFA’s key findings from 2020/21 was “a reduction in foreign players led to more opportunities for young Australian players, with 38% fewer foreign players in the league this year (23 down from 37)”. While we have three more imports this time around, the ongoing Covid situation has largely continued this trend.
The most common source of internationals traditionally is the United States and 2021/22 is no different, with eight American players gracing our shores.
New Zealand supplies six imports, while Japan is a surprise entry for the third most popular source of internationals this season. Usually not the strongest source of imports, it’s pleasing to see three Japanese players plying their trade here this summer. Nanako Sasaki is showing in the early rounds for Adelaide United how beneficial their inclusion can be with their penchant for close technical skills, and many fans would remember Yukari Kinga‘s significant contribution to the competition over several seasons with Canberra United and Melbourne City.
England and Canada contribute two players each this season, with all other nations shown in the chart contributing one.
One thing you may be wondering about is how many imports have come direct from Australian NPLW teams? Of the 26 imports, half (13) played in an NPLW season just prior to the 2021/22 ALW campaign.
Those who have either arrived from overseas or who did not play NPLW between seasons are:
– Dane Mie Leth Jans, American Cyera Hintzen and Kiwi Liz Anton (Perth Glory)
– Frenchwoman Margot Robinne, plus Americans Ally Haran and Chelsee Washington (all Canberra United, noting Robinne played NPLW in Victoria the season prior)
– American Kayla Sharples (Adelaide United)
– Kiwis Marisa van der Meer and Hannah Wilkinson (Melbourne City)
– Kiwi Paige Satchell (Sydney FC)
– American Lynn Williams (Melbourne Victory)
– Norwegian Marie Dølvik and American Elizabeth Eddy (both Newcastle Jets)
In summary, many of the players we think of as internationals are not of the “fly-in and play” variety.
Mix of nations – all seasons
Around half of all imports have come from the USA over the years. New Zealand, England, Canada, Japan and Denmark round out the top six (with Japan and Denmark each on eight players). 218 import players from thirty-three different nations have participated in the A-League Women’s competition since its inception.
2021/22 import breakdown by team
Adelaide United
Fiona Worts from England, Reona Omiya and Nanako Sasaki from Japan, and Kayla Sharples from the USA comprise the international contingent for the team from South Australia. They are one of only two sides to fill all four full-contract visa slots this season.
Attacker Worts is in her second campaign with the club, having scored twice last season. Worts opened her 2021/22 account during Adelaide’s 5-1 away loss to Melbourne Victory. The former Coventry United and Leicester City player plied her trade for NPL South Australia club Fulham United in 2021.
Japanese holding midfielder Reona Omiya has mostly been used as a substitute in the opening rounds of the ALW season. The 29-year-old had spent the 2021 NPL Victoria Women season briefly with Bulleen Lions before joining South Melbourne until the competition was suspended.
Midfielder Sasaki made a splash in Adelaide’s Round 2 home win over Canberra United with a spectacular goal and assist. Sasaki has been with NPLW side Adelaide City for four seasons and the Adelaide Comets for one since her arrival in 2017, winning several team and individual honours along the way. Sasaki scored four goals in 24 games for the Comets over the winter and was recently named in the NPLW South Australian Team of the Year for the third consecutive season.
Central defender Sharples recently completed a breakout NWSL season with the Chicago Red Stars, starting in 12 of 14 appearances, having also appeared for them twice in the 2019 season. Sharples has just made her ALW debut, in the Round 5 game against Perth Glory.
Brisbane Roar
Midfielder Rie Kitano (Japan), plus attackers Shea Connors (USA) and Mariel Hecher (Brazil), comprise the Roar internationals for 2021/22. All have featured strongly in the season to date.
Kitano played for Okayama Yunogo Belle in Japan’s Nadeshiko League before relocating to Australia in early 2019 to link up with Gold Coast United. Playing with Souths United in 2021, Kitano has amassed 31 goals in less than three full NPLW seasons.
US-born Connors played one season with KR Reykjavik in Iceland in 2018 before coming to Australia and playing three NPLW seasons (two with Logan Lightning and one with Lions FC). She is in her second season with the Roar, having played just two games in 2019/20.
Impressing with her twelve appearances and four goals for the Roar in 2020/21, Hecher – an osteopath by trade, treating musculoskeletal injuries – is looking just as potent this season. She has spent the last three NPLW seasons with Lions FC.
Canberra United
Two up-and-coming American Orlando Pride players – centre back Ally Haran and midfielder Chelsee Washington – and French midfielder Margot Robinne make up the team in green’s international cohort. Haran holds dual citizenship (American and Canadian). Neither American has played in Australia before.
Ally Haran and Chelsee Washington! 🔐
We’re thrilled to announce the signings of Ally and Chelsee, both joining us from Orlando Pride in the NWSL!
Read more: https://t.co/lHKB50CKpJ#UnitedAlways pic.twitter.com/6T4tNxRIt1
— Canberra United (@CanberraUnited) November 1, 2021
Attacking midfielder Robinne made her debut in the French National League at 15 years of age. She played 210 games for Montigny le Bretonneux, FC Rouen and Toulouse FC, where she scored 138 goals.
In 2017, Robinne moved to Australia and played for NPL Victoria clubs Bulleen Lions and Bayside United, before signing a W-League contract with Melbourne City for 2020/21.
Melbourne City
City’s foreign players both hearken from New Zealand. Not listed below are dual citizens Stott and Vlajnic, who are mentioned earlier in this article.
Hannah Wilkinson’s physical presence and nose for goal in the early rounds of 2021/22 are well and truly helping to fill the team’s goal-scoring void from last season. After a college career in the US with the University of Tennessee, Wilkinson played 35 games for Vittsjö GIK and 17 for DjurgĂĄrdens in the Swedish Damallsvenkan, 15 games for Sporting Lisbon in Portugal and 10 games for MSV Duisburg in the Frauen Bundesliga.
Marisa van der Meer’s move to the A-League Women’s competition comes after several years playing for Canterbury United Pride in New Zealand. She has been called up to the Football Ferns twice but is yet to make her senior international debut, and is yet to appear in the ALW for City.
Melbourne Victory
The defending ALW champions have three Americans and one Kiwi in their squad.
Football Ferns international defender Claudia Bunge is in her second season with Victory. She made her debut for the national team in 2019 against China. Outside of her time with Victory, Bunge’s club football has all been in New Zealand.
American Kayla Morrison was announced as Victory captain after an outstanding campaign in 2020/21 but ruptured her ACL in the first half of their opening game against Adelaide United. Morrison will miss the rest of the season and her absence is being keenly felt in defence. The 25 year old also played college football at the University of Kansas and then professionally in the Swedish second division with Morön BK.
American attacker Catherine Zimmerman featured in a recent Beyond 90 podcast episode and is also in her second season with the Victory. The 27 year old played one season with NWSL side Sky Blue FC in 2016 and two seasons with NPL Victoria outfit Calder United. ‘Zim’ scored five goals last season and is off to a flyer this time around, with three goals to her name in the early rounds.
The collective groan on social media when Victory announced the signing of American Lynn Williams was almost audible (a common theme was “all that talent and Williams too?”). A member of the US national team with genuine pace and goalscoring instincts, Williams is proving to be the exception to the rule that suggests once a US player makes the USWNT, they no longer cross the Pacfic Ocean to play in the ALW.
Williams is on a guest player contract with Victory after signing a similar deal with Western Sydney Wanderers in 2019/20 (touched on above).
Newcastle Jets
After playing the 2020/21 campaign with no imports on their books, the Jets have two to their name this season.
24-year-old Norwegian attacker Marie Dølvik has plenty of experience to draw upon, with a brief stint at German giants Wolfsburg adding to Cup and Championship victories in her four seasons with 2020 Norwegian Toppserien champions Vålerenga.
American midfielder Elizabeth Eddy is on loan from NWSL team Gotham FC. Eddy has over 80 appearances to her name in the NWSL over seven seasons, mostly with Western NY Flash and NY Courage (rebadged and relocated from the Flash) between 2015 and 2019 – winning three titles along the way – but also with Sky Blue FC and Gotham FC. In 2020 Eddy spent a season with Vittsjö in the Swedish Damallsvenskan.
Eddy has played every minute so far, while Dølvik has played in three of Newcastle’s opening four matches.
Perth Glory
The Glory is the other side to fill all four full-contract visa slots, with four different nationalities involved.
Mie Leth Jans made her Danish national team debut in 2013, and it was around this time the defender started a three-season stint in Denmark with Brøndby IF. Moving to the FA WSL for two seasons with Manchester City, Jans didn’t see much game time and switched to the Swedish Damallsvenskan. Jans helped RosengĂĄrd take out the Swedish championship in 2019 before embarking on two seasons in the same competition with Vittsjö, where she played alongside Emily Gielnik and Clare Polkinghorne.
English attacker Gemma Craine played her early football with Norwich City and Lincoln, while also spending time with the Chelsea academy. She moved to America as an 18-year-old, playing college football at San Diego State University. After graduation and two years away from the game, Craine joined her family in Perth and played for NPLW WA side Fremantle, before signing with Glory for the 2020/21 season. After a hamstring injury in her second Glory appearance ended a promising campaign, the speedster has signed on for another go-round with the team in purple.
New Zealand defender Liz Anton first played for the Football Ferns in 2017 after several junior World Cup appearances for both the Under 17’s and Under 20’s. Anton is in her second season with the Glory.
Attacker Cyera Hintzen is a former USA Under-19 international and spent last season with reigning Icelandic league champions Valur Reykjavik. She scored four times in ten league games for Valur, as well as netting a double during a Champions League outing against Zurich. Hintzen opened her ALW account in style with a nice finish on her Glory debut against Adelaide United in Round 5.
Sydney FC
Sydney FC has called upon the services of two visa players with very different attacking strengths.
New Zealand’s Paige Satchell delighted Canberra United crowds last season with her turn of pace. Satchell signed with Frauen Bundesliga team SC Sand in 2019 but only made nine appearances, before committing to Canberra United for the 2020/21 campaign. The 23 year old has 11 senior caps and to date has been a bench player for Ante Juric’s side.
Chilean Maria Rojas is held in high regard for her close balls skills and character. Rojas is a 13-year veteran for her national team (‘La Roja’) and is one of their highest-scoring strikers with 11 goals in 44 international games. Her career has taken her to the US, Japan, Germany, Lithuania and Czechoslovakia, while in more recent years she has been influential in NPL South Australia for both Adelaide University and Salisbury Inter.
In the ALW, Rojas played for Canberra United and Adelaide United before signing with Sydney FC.
Wellington Phoenix
The newest ALW team is comprised of players from Australia and New Zealand only, and therefore has no foreign players in scope for this article.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Canadian attacker Isabella Habuda is one of two foreign players for the Wanderers. Habuda has been in Australia for the last two years, playing for NPL Queensland side Gold Coast United.
Habuda’s career to date has taken her to Ramat-Hasharon in Israel, Umea UK in Sweden, and SK Sturm Graz in Austria. She is another player who has benefited from the US college system where she played with the University of Louisville.
Technically gifted New Zealand midfielder Malia Steinmetz has two senior caps to her name. She has already shown herself to be an important part of the Wanderers’ midfield engine, building on her experience with Perth Glory in 2020/21. Steinmetz also played for NSW NPL side Northern Tigers in both 2019 and 2021, and was named in our 2019 NSW NPL Team of the Year.
ALW Roll of Honour: Top 5 longest-serving internationals
The following roll of honour reads like a who’s who of players with significant contributions to the history and development of the league.
- Kendall Fletcher (USA) – 89 appearances – Central Coast Mariners (2009-10), Melbourne Victory (2010-2012), Canberra United (2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2017-2018, 2020-2021), Western Sydney Wanderers (2016-2017).
- Jess Fishlock (Wales) – 75 appearances – Melbourne Victory (2012-2014), Melbourne City (2015-2018)
- Natasha Dowie (England) – 55 appearances – Melbourne Victory (2013-2020)
- Yukari Kinga (Japan) – 53 appearances – Canberra United (2016-2017), Melbourne City (2017-2020)
- Christine Nairn (USA) – 49 appearances – Melbourne Victory (2014-2019)
Note that Melbourne City’s Rebekah Stott would be at the top of the list above (and is still adding to her tally) had she not held Australian citizenship.
How do imports impact their ALW teams?
This is not an easy question to answer, as it turns out.
First, most followers of the game would agree that the addition of internationals raises the standard of the league as a whole, for the betterment of all players, including those making their way into the Matildas squad.
Some players have such a presence within their team – on and off the pitch – that they have the ability to alter outcomes of games and seasons seemingly off their own back. Those on the list above are among those within that category, with Fishlock perhaps the best example, but American Lori Lindsey also comes to mind during her 14 appearances for Canberra United between 2013-2015. Of course, there are (and have been) local players who also have this kind of presence.
Attempting to quantify the impact of international players statistically is difficult (and ultimately fruitless as the author of this article discovered) as the success of their teams can also be due to the strength of the domestic talent in the team.
Perhaps it’s good enough to be able to recognise their beneficial effects when we see them. Exposure to different playing styles and characteristics can only be good for the Aussies in the league and the game here as a whole.
A-League imports are here to stay, and as they are across the globe, their stylistic differences, tactics, and all they bring to the league will always be welcome.
