The 24-year-old is preparing for Sunday's FA Cup final after a remarkable rise to becoming the best defender on the planet
Naomi Girma’s unveiling as a Chelsea player was different to most, befitting of her status as the most expensive transfer in the history of the women’s game. It was at Stamford Bridge, ahead of a huge London derby against Arsenal, that fans learned of the 24-year-old’s arrival, with her walking out to rapturous applause as she waved to the adoring supporters of her new club. It’s a moment that Girma, with her beaming smile, appeared to relish. However, it also probably felt a little bit strange for someone who, in the words of one former team-mate, has “never really made it about her”.
Kennedy Wesley, who played alongside Girma at Stanford University and the San Diego Wave, can’t help but be amused when she thinks about all the attention her friend is getting at the moment. “Obviously, she's the best defender in the world, but if you were to ask her about that or tell her that yourself, she would respond in the most humble way possible,” she tells GOAL. “Like, that she still has so much room to improve, she has her team-mates and coaches and everyone else to thank. I feel like she's never going to claim the status that we all view her as [holding] and that's one of the things that I love most about her, that she carries herself with a humility and grace that is just unmatched for someone with her stature.”
Speak to anyone who knows Girma and they will say similar things. It’s part of what has made her an exceptional team-mate throughout her career to date, while giving her the determination to hit even greater heights. It’s also helped her on a journey that, though arduous at times, has already taken her to world-class status and made her the first million dollar player in the women’s game.
Getty ImagesStrong foundations
It’s not hard to find people to talk to about Girma. She’s made such a positive mark in the places she has been throughout her career to date that it’s incredibly easy to get people on the phone to chat all about her. “I could talk about Nay all day,” Wesley laughs, after taking time out of her own day to talk about their time together in San Diego and, before that, at Stanford.
Paul Ratcliffe, head coach of the latter’s women’s soccer program since 2003, noticed this impact during the centre-back’s four-year stint at college. When he would meet with his players and speak to them about how they were settling in, three or four would pick out Girma as their best friend on the whole team. “That's the kind of connection she has with her team-mates,” he tells GOAL. “They all adored her.”
It's something he cites as a “testament” to Girma herself, but also to her family. Born in the Bay Area of California, her father founded Maleda Soccer Club, centred around the region’s Ethiopian community. “There is a church and people would gather there, but there wasn't any other gathering other than holidays, I guess, so it was kind of an easy way for everyone to stay in touch and for the kids to just get active,” Girma told GOAL previously. “It was a really good community bonding thing and it still happens now. My dad isn't as involved because me and my brother are in our 20s, but the kids still get together and play, and I think it's just great for everyone.”
It's no surprise that Girma, who started playing soccer at Maleda, has been stood in such good stead by a family that creates and contributes to this sort of community space. “They're hard working people, they're caring, they're intelligent,” Ratcliffe says, remembering his first impressions of the whole family. “For me, one of Naomi's strengths is her character, her overall character. She's just a great human being. Obviously, it's a testament to Naomi and how she wants to be, but it definitely starts with the family.”
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAlmighty rise
Those personal traits would help mark Girma out as a true leader as her growth as a player really took off. Aged 13, she was playing in national-team camps and, aged 15, she’d committed to Stanford, one of the best programs in the country for college soccer but also, in a nod to her off-pitch talents, an academic powerhouse. Maya Doms started at Stanford the year after Girma and, knowing she was going there, watched all the Cardinals’ games. “Even though she was a freshman, she was one of the key players,” Doms remembers of her future team-mate. “I guess I sort of idolised her even before going there.”
By the time her sophomore year rolled around, Girma was the team captain, a relatively unheard of feat. In her first season with that armband, she would lead Stanford to a national title. Unsurprisingly, when her time at college came to a close, the defender was selected by the San Diego Wave as the first overall pick in the NWSL Draft.
“Sometimes the younger players take a while to get going in the league, but you could just tell right away with Nay, especially when we had the pre-season games, I felt like she was an international player,” Emily van Egmond, the 158-time Australia international who was Girma’s roommate in San Diego, tells GOAL. “I didn't even feel like she was a rookie. She came out and she just had that presence about her already, and she just fit straight in. I remember sitting with some of the girls and we were just saying, 'Nay, we can't even classify you as a rookie. You're like a veteran!'”
Within a few weeks, Girma’s debut for the U.S. women’s national team would follow, kickstarting a year that would end in her being crowned Rookie of the Year, Defender of the Year and being named to the NWSL Best XI, having helped the Wave become the first expansion team to reach the post-season. Under the tutelage of former England defender Casey Stoney, Girma thrived in San Diego and helped the team win two major titles before departing at the start of 2025. That success has translated to the international stage, too, with her an incredible performer in the USWNT’s Olympic triumph last summer.
Getty ImagesNot without setbacks
That, though, is to make Girma’s rise sound simple; it has certainly not been. One of the first big setbacks came right after the high of that national title in 2019, when the defender tore her ACL. It’s a dreadful injury to sustain, the type which players can take months to feel like themselves again after, even once they’ve returned to action. Girma’s attitude throughout the recovery, though, was remarkable.
“Not only was she able to carry herself in such a strong way through her own rehab, but she also was able to still be the leader and the team-mate and the captain that she was at the time to the rest of us that were playing,” Wesley remembers. “She had such a positive impact, even from the sidelines.”
“She was there with us at every practice, every game,” Doms adds. “It almost felt like she wasn't injured, because she was still kind of, in a way, coaching us, giving us pointers as a team and just sharing her wisdom. It didn't really feel like she was injured. Maybe the results reflected that! We obviously missed her vision and her security as a defender on the field, but her involvement with the team never really went away, even though she was injured for that long.”
Girma’s discipline in her recovery wowed those around her, too. “I feel like it was the fastest year I had ever seen for her to recover,” Ratcliffe recalls. “Her dedication to all of her rehab and getting back to full strength was tremendous, and it shows your character when you go through adversity like that. In my eyes, Naomi has the highest level of character.”
Example on and off the pitch
That adversity, however, was nothing in comparison to the tragic news that came just a few weeks before Girma’s first season in the NWSL. On March 1, 2022, Katie Meyer, Girma’s best friend and college team-mate, died by suicide. Meyer was an incredibly popular person, as showcased by the outpouring of love in the wake of her death.
“The truest friend I ever had,” Girma wrote on . “The most unapologetic, positive, caring person in the world. The first person to be open and talk about her feelings. The first person you’d turn to when you needed to talk about yours. And the last person you’d think would take her own life.”
That Girma would go on to have the incredible season she did shortly after that news broke is almost unfathomable. But more inspiring is the work she has been doing to continue Meyer’s legacy and help young people who are struggling with depression, anxiety and more.
Along with international team-mates Sofia Huerta and Sophia Wilson, the latter of whom was part of the same incredible Stanford team, and partnered with Common Goal, Girma helped launch a mental health initiative on the eve of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. “Through this project, Katie’s spirit, her warmth, and her legacy will live on. We will make sure of that,” she wrote.
