We’re into the new year which means it’s time to once again survey the A-League Women’s competition for visa players. The Season 15 edition can be found here, while Season 14 can be found here.
Which players are not counted as imports?
Australian citizens who have chosen to represent another national team, such as Canberra United’s Vesna Milivojevic (nine caps for Serbia), Melbourne City’s Rebekah Stott (31 games for the Football Ferns), Western United’s Tyla-Jay Vlajnic (three caps, also for Serbia), and Brisbane Roar’s Deborah-Anne de la Harpe (one game for Ireland) are not included.
Overseas-born players who are Australian citizens, such as American-born Melbourne Victory captain Kayla Morrison (now an Aussie citizen as of November 2023) and Brisbane Roar’s Mariel Hecher (also recently a citizen) are also not regarded as imports.
Non-citizens who are Australian permanent residents are not counted as imports because they do not require a visa to participate in the league. They are usually few in number.
Aussies playing for Wellington Phoenix (such as Tiana Jaber) will not be regarded as imports for this article as they do not require a New Zealand visa, but Kiwis playing for Australian teams are as they still require visas to participate (e.g. Melbourne City’s Hannah Wilkinson). The stipulation that Wellington had to include Australian players in their squad has been removed for this season.
Competition rules around imports
Teams are allowed to field six visa players in total: five with full-season contracts (up one from last season, and now aligned with the A-League Men regulations), and one as a guest player. A guest player is defined as a player who is limited to up to half the season i.e. eleven games in season 2023-24. They do not need to be foreign (as in the case of Australians leaving partway during the season to participate in Nordic or American competitions), so clubs can conceivably have more than one guest player. The eleven games may be non-consecutive, which can lead to some interesting juggling for coaches and consequences for teams. To date, no 2023-24 visa guest players are listed by clubs.
If a player (either Australian or import) becomes injured and is unable to fulfil the agreed term of their contract (or part thereof), clubs can seek an import as an injury replacement for the duration of that injury.
The mix of nations in 2023/24
In the 2023-24 A-League Women’s competition, 49 players from 13 different nations are regarded as imports, compared to 41 players from 15 nations last season. Despite the introduction of a longer, full home-and-away season, a new team, and an additional available visa place per team, clubs have only marginally increased their import numbers across the board.
This may reflect:
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- the need for larger squads to cater for the longer season, meaning less available money for additional imports;
- salary cap pressures; and/or
- budgetary pressures, perhaps partially due to additional interstate travel and accommodation this season.
The most common source of internationals traditionally is the United States and 2023-24 is no different, with 23 Americans gracing our shores (four more than last season). In a country as populous as the USA where the top-tier NWSL competition is fed by the highly regarded US College system (see the College Matildas website for more information), roster numbers are limited. Little wonder that fringe players in particular turn their thoughts to strong alternative off-season overseas competitions such as the A-League as a way of enhancing their prospects.
New Zealand supplies eight imports, one up on last season, while the Philippines and Japan are the next most numerous sources (four and three respectively).
While it is perhaps once again surprising that the Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland) don’t have more players in the league (there is just one), the slightly longer A-League season now makes it even more challenging for Nordic players to return in time for the start of the 2024 Nordic campaigns.
Two seasons ago, half of the imports had played in an Australian NPL season just before the A-League Women campaign. Since then the story has been very different, with the pendulum in favour of the ‘fly-in and play’ cohort.
2023/24 import breakdown by team
Adelaide United
A mix of nations is on board at Adelaide, with Nanako Sasaki from Japan, Maruschka Waldus from the Netherlands, Hannah Blake from New Zealand, Jenna Holtz (USA) and Mariah Lee (USA) making up the visa player contingent.
Japanese midfielder Nanako Sasaki is in her third season at Adelaide United, with twelve starts and two goals to date this campaign. Her winter consisted of a third season with Adelaide Comets, having previously spent four seasons at Adelaide City.
Dutch defender Maruschka Waldus is in her second stint with Adelaide – and her third in the league – having played 11 games during the 2020-21 season; 18 games in the 2022-23 season; and 22 games for Western Sydney Wanderers between 2017 and 2019. Waldus is also known for her time in Norway (one season at Avaldsnes and two at VĂĄlerenga) and in the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV, where she played 24 games during their 2021-22 season.
Waldus has started in all games bar one this season to date. In September 2023 she signed a two-year contract extension with Adelaide United. She has three A-League goals, all with Adelaide.
A New Zealand international, attacker Hannah Blake was brought into the Perth Glory squad last season as an injury replacement for Rylee Baisden. Blake made her Football Ferns debut against Thailand aged 17 having previously represented her country at both the U17 and U20 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments.
Blake spent several seasons from 2019 in the highest level of US College football. In the A-Leagues, she has scored six goals, three with Perth and three thus far this season with Adelaide.
American friends Jenna Holtz (midfielder/defender) and Mariah Lee (attacker) were co-announced by Adelaide United this season, with both having spent time in Spanish leagues. Holtz has just three starts but has been on Adelaide’s team sheet every match so far this A-League season.
Lee recently took part in OL Reign’s NWSL pre-season of the NWSL but also scored six goals in 11 appearances for Celtic FC Women in 2021. Later that year she netted five goals from 21 games for FC Nordsjælland in Denmark. Lee has scored twice this A-League season, starting in all but two games.
Brisbane Roar
Dane Hannah Holgersen and three Americans, Mia Corbin, Leah Scarpelli, and Jordan Silkowitz make up the Roar visa player group this season.
Attacker Holgerson comes to the Roar having injured a medial ligament in her only appearance for Adelaide United last campaign. She has seven ALW appearances including two starts this season, but no goals as yet. In the Danish Kvindeliga, Holgerson played 25 games (for B93 and AGF), scoring three times.
Mia Corbin has scored seven goals and three assists this season, playing significant minutes in every Roar game. After four years of US College football and half a season with OL Reign, Corbin turned her attention abroad as stints in Costa Rica and Italy beckoned, before signing with the Roar.
Defender Leah Scarpelli has started in twelve Roar games this season. She comes to the ALW after time with Sporting Lisbon in Portugal but was also selected in youth USWNT squads between the U15’s and U19’s having come through the US College system.
Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz has been a revelation in goals, averaging four saves a game for her team and playing every minute of every game. She is the first-ever player, and goalkeeper, to be drafted into the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) out of Iowa State University, by Kansas City Current in 2023.
Canberra United
The Canberra-based team in green has a returning Chilean bolstering their ranks this season, as well as two from each of the USA and New Zealand. None of the five were on board last season.
Chilean forward Maria ‘Cote’ Rojas is a 13-year veteran of her national team (‘La Roja’) and is one of their highest-scoring strikers with 11 goals in 43 international games. Her career has taken her to the US, Japan, Germany, Lithuania, Czechia, and Cyprus. Locally she has been influential in NPL South Australia for both Adelaide University and Salisbury Inter.
Rojas played for Canberra United in 2018-19, then Adelaide United, Sydney FC, and Melbourne City before returning to Canberra. Mostly used off the bench in this campaign, Rojas missed a month of football with a medial ligament (knee) issue. She has yet to score this season.
American Cannon Clough has slotted into Canberra’s central defence having mainly played as a wide back in her previous seasons with the Brisbane Roar and the Newcastle Jets. Clough has started each game this season and has scored once – her first ALW goal.
Relocating to Australia in 2019, Clough played an NPL season with Lions FC in Brisbane before joining the Roar. Read here about an airport visa query and how it led to Clough’s decision to seek a third A-League season.
How did a centre-back score from THERE?! 🤯🔥
This absolute worldie from @CanberraUnited‘s Sarah Clark takes out @LibFinancial Goal of the Week! 🚀#ALW #CanberraUnited pic.twitter.com/jFRlAvWQBi
— Liberty A-League (@aleaguewomen) January 9, 2024
Fellow defender Sarah Clark also hails from the United States and has made an immediate impact in helping to control the number of ALW goals her team concedes, but has also scored a memorable goal herself (above). Clark joins fresh from the North Carolina Courage where she made a brace of appearances in the Challenge Cup. A solid US college career led to her joining the Courage last season.
Kiwi Deven Jackson has played in all bar one game this season and steadily worked into a starting role. She has one ALW goal to her name to date. Having played for the New Zealand U19’s, Jackson stepped away from football for three years. Her return saw her play an international friendly for the Football Ferns after a season with Auckland’s Eastern Suburbs club, before signing as an attacker with Canberra.
Compatriot Ruby Nathan has also played for New Zealand as an attacker between the U17’s to U20’s age groups, and comes to Canberra United from Auckland club sides. Nathan has yet to open her account this ALW season but has been included in each match-day squad to date. She has largely been preferred as a game-changer by coach Njegosh Popovich.
Central Coast Mariners
The Mariners have drawn upon the services of five internationals in their welcome return to the ALW competition. Four of the five are ALW newcomers.
Wurigumula has played four games for the People’s Republic of China, two in 2020 and another two in 2023. The attacker has started in all but two of the Mariners’ games, coming off the bench in the other two, and has accumulated five goals and two assists. She joins the club from the Chinese Super League Women’s competition, most recently playing for Changchun Jiuyin Loans in the 2022 league season.
American defender Jazmin Wardlow was a member of the 2019 Houston Dash squad, and has also played a season in Serbia with Ĺ˝FK Spartak Subotica – participating in the Champions League that season – and with Fiorentina in the Serie A (Italy). She has started each game for the Mariners this season as an integral part of their defensive setup and has this highlight against Sydney FC in their catchup game to look back on.
Fellow American attacker Rola Badawiya is in her second ALW season, having joined Sydney FC’s successful campaign mid-last season. She has started every game for the Mariners and has rewarded them with five goals to date, adding to one for Sydney last season. Badawiya was awarded NSW NPLW Player of the Season for Sydney University in her first NPL season, before linking up with NWS Spirit. Another to come through four years of the US College system, Badawiya also spent time with Roma in Italy.
Experienced English defender Faye Bryson has six years of FAWSL experience under her belt, two seasons with Everton, two with Bristol City, and most recently two with Reading. She has started in ten of her twelve Mariners’ appearances, scoring one goal along the way to two club-nominated Player of the Match performances.
https://twitter.com/aleaguewomen/status/1728634491265311082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Born in Texas before representing Mexico at a youth National Team level, midfielder Briana Woodall progressed through the USA college football system before spending time in Austrian and Mexican leagues. Woodall has come off the bench twice so far for the Mariners this ALW season.
Melbourne City
Three returning internationals and two new to the competition make up City’s visa player contingent.
Football Ferns striker Hannah Wilkinson is in her third season with Melbourne City. After a US college career at the University of Tennessee, Wilkinson played 35 games for Vittsjö GIK and 17 games for DjurgĂĄrden (both Swedish clubs), 15 games for Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon and 10 games for German outfit MSV Duisburg. Wilkinson has started in all bar one of City’s ALW contests this season, scoring six goals along the way. She has 23 ALW goals to her name over the three seasons to date.
Bosnian attacker Emina Ekic lit up Melbourne City’s last season – on loan from NWSL club Racing Louisville – before fracturing an ankle after six games. She is now on a new two-year permanent deal with City. After representing the United States at U23 level in 2019, Ekic received her first call-up for the Bosnian and Herzegovina team in 2023, her senior international debut. She has six goals to her name in her eleven City appearances this year, adding to her four goals from last season. In comparison, Ekic has three goals from her 38 Racing Louisville appearances over three seasons.
Winger Julia Grosso is a versatile player from the US college system who can also comfortably slot into a fullback role. She captained the University of Kentucky during the last two years of her five with the team. In her second season with City, Grosso continues to start the majority of City games, with a goal per season to date.
A United States U20 and U23’s representative, midfielder Taylor Otto spent two seasons with Racing Louisville in the NWSL before making 27 appearances for Celtic (Scotland), scoring twice. Otto has started every City game this season, scoring her first ALW goal against Canberra United in Round 15.
Canadian keeper Lysianne Proulx joined Melbourne City on a two-year deal this season, playing every minute of the first 14 games of the current campaign. A member of Canada’s 2023 World Cup squad, Proulx represented her country at two U17 World Cups and one U20 World Cup, as well as picking up a silver medal at the 2022 CONCACAF championship in Mexico.
Melbourne Victory
No mistake, it’s been a few years since we’ve seen an entirely fresh batch of Victory visa signings (aided of course by skipper Kayla Morrison becoming an Aussie in November 2023).
Japanese attacker Kurea Okino has scored three times this ALW campaign, playing in 13 matches to date. A remarkable 31 Victorian NPL goals for the Boroondara Eagles paved the way for her signing. She has previously played in Japan for Vegalta Sendai and Tokiwagi Gakuen.
American midfielder Sara D’Appolonia has mainly been a bench player for Victory. She joined them off the back of a season with Redcliffe (Queensland) NPL side Peninsula Power. Before the Power, she played with the University of Delaware, and FC Malaga City Femenino in Spain in their Group 9 league.
American defender Tori Hansen anchors the Victory defence this season. On loan from NWSL club Orlando Pride, Hansen has represented her country at youth international level and played four seasons at the University of North Carolina. At the time of writing, Hansen has ten starts for Victory from twelve league appearances.
Fellow countrywoman McKenzie Weinert has been an important addition to Victory’s attacking ranks this season. Starting in each game, Weinert has recorded three ALW goals to date. She comes to Victory from OL Reign in the NWSL, where she made two appearances.
Newcastle Jets
Four different nationalities are involved in the Jets’ group of visa players this season.
Born in England, Kiwi Rebecca Burrows moved to New Zealand at age 13. She was announced for Canberra United last season before an injury setback prevented an ALW debut. Happily, Burrows now has four appearances to her name for the Jets as part of their midfield. She has represented New Zealand at the U17 and U20 World Cups and has won premierships with Three Kings United and Eastern Suburbs in Auckland. Burrows also played on a scholarship deal with the University of North Carolina Greensboro before moving to Australia to play for Heidelberg United where she was voted the Player’s Player for the 2021 season.
American goalkeeper Izzy Nino linked up with the Jets this season after six years with the University of Michigan. She has played every minute of the Jets season in her first professional engagement and has earned a 72% save statistic.
Sarina Bolden has certainly made an impression in the ALW competition, first for the Western Sydney Wanderers last season, and now for the Jets where she was picked up after the season had commenced. She has been part of the Philippines national team since 2018, playing in two Asian Cups and in the 2023 World Cup (where she played in all three games, scoring once). Bolden was the top scorer of the 2022 AFF Championship and has eight goals in the ALW competition, one with the Wanderers and eight with the Jets (along with three assists) to date.
Swiss defender Lorena Baumann has previously played for FC ZĂĽrich Frauen, FC Neunkirch, and FC St-Gallen in the top league in Switzerland, as well as Throttur Reykjavik in Iceland and SF Damaiense in Portugal. She represented Switzerland at U17 and U19 levels before making her full senior international debut in 2019. Baumann has started in most games this season for the Jets.
Baumann has won six Swiss Championship titles along with five Swiss Cup titles while also featuring regularly in the UEFA Women’s Champions League competition.
Perth Glory
Glory has filled all five full-contract visa slots, with two from New Zealand, two from the Philippines, and one from England.
New Zealand defender Liz Anton first played for the Football Ferns in 2017 after several junior World Cup appearances for both their U17s and U20s. She has now appeared 16 times in the national jersey at senior level. Anton is in her fourth season with the club and has started in the majority of Glory games this season.
English attacking livewire Millie Farrow has six goals and three assists to her name this season, including a memorable hat-trick against Melbourne City. Farrow comes to the Glory from the North Carolina Courage. A former England U19 and U23 international, she was a part of the Chelsea squad which completed the FA Women’s Super League and Women’s FA Cup double in 2015. She also helped Leicester City win the FA Women’s Championship in 2021.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, Farrow had two seasons with Reading in the FAWSL, as well as time with Crystal Palace and Bristol City (before City’s ascension into the English top tier).
Kiwi midfielder/attacker Grace Jale is with her third club in three seasons, having started ALW life with Wellington Phoenix before spending a season with Canberra United. Jale has scored three times this season, with a total ALW tally of 12. She has nine appearances for New Zealand at U17 and U20 levels, as well as 19 games and two goals at senior level.
Jessika Cowart was born in the USA but has chosen to play for the Philippines on the international stage, where she has over 20 appearances. In 2023 the defender plied her trade with Kalmar in the Swedish top tier before joining the Glory, playing every minute of the season to date. Cowart played US College football between 2017 and 2021, before gaining her first experience of European football in the Turkish Women’s Football Super League with Caykur Rizespor.
Like Cowart, Quinley Quezada is American-born but plays for the Philippines. The record goal-scorer for her country, Quezada helped them win the AFF Women’s Championship, reach the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup in 2022, and then qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time. At club level, she followed a US college career by playing in Japan for JEF United Chiba and in Serbia with Red Star Belgrade.
Quezada has started in five of her thirteen games for the Glory this season and has one goal to her name, from Round 15 against Sydney FC.
Sydney FC
Sydney FC have the fewest visa players of all Australian clubs in the ALW competition, but two of their three have unfortunately sustained injuries.
US-born Shea Connors played one season with Icelandic side KR Reykjavik in 2018 before coming to Australia and playing four NPL seasons (two with Logan Lightning, one with Lions FC and one with APIA Leichhardt). Having scored 14 goals over three seasons with the Brisbane Roar where she was last season’s Golden Boot and Player’s Player, Connors joined Sydney from NWSL club San Diego Wave.
Connors started in three of her five Sydney ALW games but a broken foot won’t see her return to action until the back half of the season.
English attacker Fiona Worts is in her first Sydney season, having spent three in Adelaide including a celebrated 2021-22 campaign when she won both the league’s Golden Boot and Julie Dolan Medal. She has also spent time in Norway with LSK Kvinner.
Worts scored three goals in six games this season, however an injured lateral collateral knee ligament (LCL) means that she is unlikely to return to action until at least the finals series.
American defender Jordan Thompson was signed as Round 1 injury replacement for team captain Natalie Tobin after Tobin injured her ACL. Jordan comes to Sydney from the Washington Spirit, but has also spent time in Israel with Hapoel Raanana. Thompson has scored once in her nine ALW games to date.
Wellington Phoenix
The ‘Nix squad includes their first non-ANZAC imports, in Americans Hailey Davidson, Isabel Cox and Hope Breslin; Venezuelan Mariana Speckmaier; and Canadian Rylee Foster (all not included in the Aussie-oriented graphic above, which will be expanded for season 24-25).
Midfielder Breslin, defender Davidson and attacker Speckmaier have played in every Phoenix game this season, with the Venezuelan in the upper echelon of Golden Boot standings with seven goals thus far, while Breslin has two.
Fellow attacker Cox also has a return of two goals from six games, while keeper Foster has a 79.1 save percentage from her twelve outings.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Three players from the United States remain at the Wanderers after their sole Kiwi accepted an offer mid-season.
Rising star Milly Clegg had already played in three international friendlies for the Football Ferns (and one season for the Wellington Phoenix) when she was signed by the Wanderers but then had to wait for her 18th birthday before playing (according to visa rules). The attacker was to make just the one appearance after recovering from injury, before signing a deal with Racing Louisville in the NWSL.
American defender Vicky Bruce has played in all but one game for the Wanderers this season, scoring twice. She comes to the ALW with a rich set of international playing experiences over seven years, having played in Iceland, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark (winning the Kvindeliga with Fortuna Hjørring), and in the Champions League.
American keeper Kaylie Collins is on loan to the Wanderers from NWSL outfit Orlando Pride, where she has been since 2021. As of the time of writing, Collins has nine starts with the red and black, and a save percentage over 74%. Her college career was with USC Trojans.
The Wanderers’ third American is attacker Maliah Morris, who at the time of writing has started in nine of her twelve appearances this season without scoring. Morris arrives from a stint with NWSL side Orlando Pride, playing with Clemson University before then.
Western United
The league’s newest team has a full complement of internationals, with several of them returning for the club’s second season.
Goalkeeper Hillary Beall took out last season’s ALW Golden Glove award after joining from Racing Louisville. She previously played five seasons with the University of Michigan. This season she has started in eleven matches to date, with a save percentage equalling last season’s 75%. For more information, the Beyond 90 Getting To Know Hillary Beall article is recommended.
United’s second American import is attacker Hannah Keane, who also took out an ALW award last season, the Golden Boot. She has UEFA Women’s Champions League experience, plus stints in Germany (USV Jena), Portugal (SC Braga) and Spain (SC Huelva’s 2021-22 campaign, where she scored five league goals and helped the team reach the Cup final).
Keane scored 13 times last ALW season. So far in this campaign she has five under her belt, with four goal assists.
Midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki represented Canada at youth level and made one senior appearance for them in 2011 before changing allegiances to the Philippines. Previously, Sawicki played Canadian second-tier football before embarking on stints in Japan and Sweden.
Sawicki played in all three 2023 World Cup games for the Philippines. She captained Western United in her 12 appearances last season and shares the captaincy with Chloe Logarzo this season, where she has all but one game to date, scoring once.
No stranger to football in Melbourne, American attacker Catherine Zimmerman – who featured in Beyond 90 podcast episode 71 – has played three seasons with Melbourne Victory before linking up with Western United. With Victory, she accumulated 14 goals in 37 appearances and won Championships in 2021 and 2022. ‘Zim’ played one season with NWSL side Sky Blue FC in 2016 and two seasons with NPL Victoria outfit Calder United, the club from which Western United sprung.
A stress fracture in her foot has prevented Zimmerman’s Western United debut, but recent reports state she is now back in full training.
Originating from Japan, Keiwa Hieda rounds out Western United’s visa player roster. Joining United on a scholarship contract, Hieda scored nine goals at Calder United in NPLW Victoria this year, having top-scored in the competition the previous season with Preston Lions. Hieda has appeared in every Western United game this season, mostly making an impact off the bench. She has three ALW goals to her name to date.
There’s your wrap of all A-League Women imports! Follow Beyond 90’s A-League Women coverage here and view this season’s squads here.
