Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: As Member Associations the length and the breadth of the continent celebrate the inaugural AFC Women’s Football Day with various initiatives that will serve to develop and promote the game, inspiration for the next generation of female footballers can be found in the Asian stars that have shone in AFC and FIFA tournaments over the years.
AFC.com looks at four players who have made their mark in Asian women’s football and can serve as role models for young girls who have ambitions to play the game at the highest level…
Chou Tai-ying (Chinese Taipei)
In the formative years of women’s football in Asia it was Chinese Taipei that was the continent’s dominant side and the East Asian nation’s standout player was unquestionably Chou Tai-ying.
Notable for winning continental titles in two confederations Chou was part of the famous ‘Mulan’ side that won three consecutive AFC Women’s Asian Cups (1977, 1979 and 1981) and two OFC Women’s Championships (1986 and 1989), before becoming one of the first Asian footballers, male or female, to enjoy a successful spell at a club in Europe, winning German women’s league titles in 1988 and 1989 with SV Bergisch Gladbach 09.
Chou followed her stint in Germany with a stint in Japan, finishing top scorer in her first season as Suzuyo Shimizu F.C. Lovely Ladies won the inaugural Nadeshiko League in 1989.
Captain of the Chinese Taipei side that reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, Chou retired from playing after the 1994 Asian Games before later having a spell as manager of the national team in 2005.
Sun Wen (China)
Arguably the greatest women’s footballer of her generation, Sun Wen was an integral part of China’s ‘Steel Roses’ side that ruled the Asian women’s game throughout the 1990s.
In an international career spanning over 15 years Sun helped China to four AFC Women’s Asian Cup titles (1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997) and represented her country at four FIFA World Cups, emerging as top scorer and player of the tournament as China finished runners-up to hosts USA in 1999.
Named FIFA Female player of the Century alongside Michelle Akers in 2000, Sun was the first round draft pick by Atlanta Beat in the inaugural season of the USA-based Women’s United Soccer Association League the following year having spent all her career with hometown club Shanghai.
Homare Sawa (Japan)
Two-time AFC Women’s Player of the Year Homare Sawa has participated in the last five FIFA Women’s World Cups, with the mercurial midfielder finishing top scorer and tournament MVP as the Nadeshiko took top honours in 2011 to become Asia’s first women’s world champions.
Since scoring four times on her international debut against the Philippines at the age of 15, Sawa has gone on to become Japan’s most capped female footballer as well as the Nadeshiko’s all-time leading scorer but it was only last year that she tasted continental glory for the first time to help Japan win the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, two years after announcing her international retirement following Japan’s silver medal win at the London Olympics.
An inductee into the inaugural AFC Hall of Fame, the only ‘active player’ to receive the honour at last year’s joint AFC Annual Awards and 60th Anniversary celebrations in Manila, Sawa's numerous club accolades include ten Nadeshiko league winners’ medals (eight with Yomiuri/NTV Belesa and two with INAC Kobe Leonessa) and a place in the league’s best 11 for 11 seasons.
Ji So-yun (Korea Republic)
Despite having turned just 24 last month, Ji So-yun is already an established superstar of the Asian women’s game and the 2013 AFC Women’s Player of the Year can lay claim to a number of significant achievements for her country.
Aged just 15 years and 282 days, Ji’s two goals against Chinese Taipei at the 2006 Asian Games saw her become the Korea Republic women’s national team’s youngest goal scorer while her three goals in the 4-0 win over Switzerland in their 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup opener made her the first Korea to hit a hat-trick in the finals of a FIFA tournament.
After earning the Silver Ball and Silver Shoe awards as the Koreans finished third at Germany 2010, Ji joined Japanese side INAC Kobe Leonessa where she won two Nadeshiko League titles, averaging a goal almost every two games prior to her move to Chelsea Ladies in January 2014.
Ji made an immediate impact in her first season in the English FA WSL (Football Association Women’s Super League) and won the 2014 Players’ Player of the Year award to add impressive array of Korean accolades, with the 2009 AFC U-19 Championship Top Scorer having been named the KFA Women’s Footballer of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Photo: AFP