By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been announced that Chelsea Women’s Football Club, the current leaders of the English Women’s Super League, after fighting off competition from Lyon, have agreed to pay a world record fee of around £900,000 to the US San Diego Wave Women’s Football Team for their 24-year-old defender, Naomi Girma. Her new Chelsea contract runs until the summer of 2029.
This signing exceeds the previous English women’s transfer record fee of £384,000 paid to the Spanish Levante Women’s Football Team by Chelsea in January 2024 for the 25-year-old Colombian striker, Mayra Ramirez.
Regarding the Naomi Girma signing, the Chelsea head of women’s football, Paul Green, remarked as follows:
“Naomi is a world-class defender who is now coming into the prime years of her career.”
And he added as follows:
“She is undoubtedly ready for this next step in her career and we are delighted it will be with Chelsea.”
In 2023, the player helped San Diego win the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Shield and was named US Soccer female player of the year.
She was also part of the US team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Although a world record fee for a women’s player, the amount pales into insignificance compared with the transfer fees paid for their male counterparts!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘