Tanzanian striker Clara Luvanga has joined the Washington Spirit from Saudi Arabian membership Al-Nassr in a deal believed to be some of the pricey within the historical past of ladies’s soccer.
The charge paid by the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League facet has not been formally disclosed.
Some are reporting it to be $2.3m, exterior (about £1.7m), which might make Luvanga the most costly feminine footballer in historical past.
BBC Sport has not been capable of confirm this determine, though a well-placed supply mentioned they believed it ranked within the high 5 most costly signings within the girls’s sport.
The Spirit declined to touch upon the charge concerned when contacted by BBC Sport.
Luvanga, 21, has signed a contract operating to the tip of the 2029 NWSL season.
If the reported document determine is right, it could imply the charge passes the £1.4m that London Metropolis Lionesses are mentioned to have paid to Paris St-Germain for Grace Geyoro final yr.
Nonetheless, the Geyoro charge has been disputed, additional illustrating how switch figures within the girls’s sport are sometimes saved personal.
Along with her transfer, Luvanga turns into the primary Tanzanian participant in NWSL historical past.
Luvanga gained the Saudi Girls’s Premier League in all three of her seasons with Al-Nassr, in addition to the Saudi Girls’s Cup, Saudi Girls’s Tremendous Cup and West Asian Soccer Federation (WAFF) Girls’s Golf equipment Championship.
She additionally claimed the league’s golden boot final season after scoring 24 targets in 14 appearances.
The Washington Spirit are owned by Michele Kang, who additionally owns London Metropolis Lionesses.
London Metropolis made a collection of high-profile signings throughout the summer season switch window, together with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas who arrived from Barcelona on a three-year deal.
Luvanga made her senior worldwide debut for Tanzania in 2024. Earlier than becoming a member of Al-Nassr in 2023, she performed for DUX Logrono in Spain, having developed via the youth system at Tanzanian membership Yanga Princess.
When discussing her new membership, Luvanga mentioned: “I’m very excited to affix the Washington Spirit and to tackle this new problem within the NWSL.
“I do know I’m arriving with the season already underneath manner, however I am actually excited to play in a brand new league and a brand new nation.”
Spirit sporting director James Hocken mentioned: “Clara provides an thrilling new dimension to our assault as we head towards the play-offs.
“Regardless of her younger age, she has demonstrated the power to attain targets in several methods and has the profile to be very profitable on this league.”
