The Movement of Young International Players to Train in the U.S.

The United States has been a destination for international youth female soccer players ever since the dawn of their initial World Cup success. What sets the U.S. apart is not only the top talent but the opportunities for females to succeed on the field.

IMG Academy

 

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In recent years, IMG Academy, an athletic boarding school in Florida, has been the perfect outlet for international players. Girls from around the world have attended the school hoping to secure a D1 spot or even play professionally.

Most recently, Kyra Taylor transferred to IMG Academy from Singapore. The 17-year-old made her debut with the U19 Premier Girls. Taylor had a solid performance in helping the team keep the ball and break line passes. Taylor has an impressive resume as a U17, U19, and U20 International Player. Additionally, she is one of five Singapore players now at IMG Academy.

Top International Stars

There are an increasing number of Asian players now coming to the United States to further their development and grow. The 16-year-old defender, Irsalina Irwan, also went to IMG from Singapore. She has expressed excitement at training multiple times a day with such talented, professional players. Irwan has already had five caps with the Singapore Women’s National Team.

Chloe Koh, a current U-16 player, will also be at IMG for the next three years. Coming from Singapore, Koh was excited about going down the college route. Koh has recently made her first U-16 National Team debut for Singapore.

Two more international players, Ardhra Arul Ganeswaran and Yasmine Zaharin, will also represent Singapore’s top female talent at IMG Academy. Yasmine has expressed that she grew up playing with boys because a girls’ team was unavailable.

This most recent World Cup expressed such immense international talent as no player was like the next. The increase in integration of international players in both the club and the collegiate arena will produce a new type of talent we have not seen yet, and the game will continue to be changed for the better.

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