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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*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2025– Arsenal 0 (0)
2025 → Southampton (loan) 9 (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 [3]
‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 June 2025 [2]

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

Early life

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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

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Arsenal

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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)

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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.[3]

International career

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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,[14] 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.[15] Lia was then named in the squad for the second qualifying round,[16] 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,[17] 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,[18] in which England were knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain.[19]

Lia was selected for both round one and round two of qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship,[20][21] scoring three goals in the second round to help England qualify for the Finals tournament.[2] 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.[22] 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.[23]

Style of play

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A speedy and skillful winger,[4] she is versatile and can also play at right-back when required.[24][25] Lia describes herself as "quite direct and creative".[26]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 4 May 2025[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League League Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Arsenal 2023–24 Women's Super League 0 0 2 0 2 0
Southampton (loan) 2024–25 Women's Championship 9 0 — 9 0
Career total 9 0 2 0 11 0

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia player stats | Professional Game Academy League". The FA. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b Vivienne Lia at Flashscore.com
  3. ^ a b c Vivienne Lia at Soccerway
  4. ^ a b c "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. ^ Davies, Callum (30 September 2022). "England WU23s, WU19s and WU17s squads named for October internationals".
  15. ^ UEFA.com. "Ukraine-England | Women's Under-17 2023". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. ^ Veevers, Nicholas (9 March 2023). "England WU17s squad set for EURO qualifiers in Croatia".
  17. ^ McHugh, Beth (2 April 2024). "England WU19s squad named for EURO qualifiers".
  18. ^ McHugh, Beth (8 July 2024). "England WU19 squad named for EUROs".
  19. ^ UEFA.com. "England-Spain | Women's Under-19 2024". UEFA.com. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  20. ^ McHugh, Beth (20 November 2024). "England WU19s begin bid for EURO qualification".
  21. ^ McHugh, Beth (26 March 2025). "England WU19s squad named for EURO qualifiers".
  22. ^ Rees-Julian, George (12 February 2025). "Saints trio called into England U19 squad for Albir Garden Tournament". Daily Echo. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  23. ^ McHugh, Beth (10 June 2025). "England WU19s squad named for EURO Finals".
  24. ^ Puodzius, Sophie (18 January 2025). "Arsenal rising star Vivienne Lia joins Southampton FC on loan". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  25. ^ Cardy, Freddie (24 May 2025). "Player Ratings: Youngsters impress as Arsenal Women win post-season friendly". Online Gooner. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Viv Lia: Saints' young Gunner talks life on loan | Southampton FC | News". www.southamptonfc.com. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
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