Honoka Hayashi
Japanese footballer (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honoka Hayashi (林 穂之香, Hayashi Honoka; IPA: [hajaɕiꜜ honoka]; born 19 May 1998) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Women's Super League club Everton and the Japan national team.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Honoka Hayashi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 May 1998[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Uji, Kyoto, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Everton | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2020 | Cerezo Osaka | 150 | (36) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | AIK | 36 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | West Ham United | 42 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Everton | 40 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Japan U19 | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Japan U20 | 8 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Japan | 42 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:45, 19 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 07:36, 20 April 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
A full international since 2019, she represented Japan at the 2020 Olympics and the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Hayashi was born in Uji, just south of central Kyoto in Japan. She started playing football for Shinmei JSC Sports Boy Scouts at the age of five. As an eleven-year-old, she was invited to a national team camp for U12 players by the Japan Football Association. At the age of 15, Hayashi moved to Osaka and she started playing with Cerezo Osaka's U15 team.[4]
Club career
Cerezo Osaka Sakai
Hayashi begun her career with Cerezo Osaka Sakai in 2013 as they entered the second division Challenge League. She was appointed club captain in 2017 and led her club to promotion to the Nadeshiko League Division 1 by the end of the season and won the Division 2 Nadeshiko League Cup.
AIK Fotboll
On 16 December 2020, Hayashi signed a contract with Swedish Damallsvenskan side AIK Fotboll.[5] She made her friendly debut in their pre-season tournament Stockholm Volkswagen Challenge. Hayashi made her league debut against Växjö on 17 April 2021.[6] On 2 May 2021, she scored her first competitive goals for the club against Djurgårdens IF, scoring in the 57th, and scoring a penalty in the 79th minute.[7] On June 5, 2021, she netted a freekick goal against KIF Örebro[8] that would see her nominated for goal of the year by Sportbladet. In total, she made 36 appearances for the club and netted 7 goals.[4]
West Ham United
On 8 September 2022, Hayashi signed a two-year-contract with West Ham United for an undisclosed fee from Swedish Damallsvenskan side AIK Fotboll.[9] She made her league debut against Everton on 18 September 2022.[10] She scored her first goal for the club in a 2-1 win against Aston Villa on 15 October 2022.[11] On 30 June 2024, it was announced that Hayashi would leave the club when her contract expired.[12]
Everton
On 24 July 2024, Hayashi signed for Everton.[13][14] On 7 December 2025, she scored the goal that ended Chelsea's unbeaten streak, the longest in Super League history at 34 matches, with Everton winning 1–0.[15] On 6 February 2026, Hayashi signed a one and a half year contract extension with the club, with a club option of a further year.[16]
International career
Hayashi received her first international call-up in December 2019.[17] On 13 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player squad for the FIFA World Cup 2023.[18] She scored her first international goal in Japan's 2–1 win against Sweden in the quarterfinal.[19] On 14 June 2024, she was included in the 2024 Summer Olympics squad.[20]
Hayashi was part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.[21]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cerezo Osaka Sakai | 2013 | Nadeshiko Challenge League | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Nadeshiko Challenge League | 22 | 3 | — | — | 22 | 3 | |||
| 2015 | Nadeshiko Challenge League | 18 | 8 | — | — | 18 | 8 | |||
| 2016 | Nadeshiko League 2 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 28 | 5 | |
| 2017 | Nadeshiko League 2 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 29 | 8 | |
| 2018 | Nadeshiko League | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Nadeshiko League 2 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 8 | |
| 2020 | Nadeshiko League | 18 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | 21 | 8 | ||
| Total | 148 | 36 | 12 | 1 | 34 | 8 | 196 | 45 | ||
| AIK Fotboll | 2021 | Damallsvenskan | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Damallsvenskan | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 6 | ||
| West Ham United | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 2 | |
| Total | 42 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 50 | 3 | ||
| Everton | 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 4 |
| 2025–26 | Women's Super League | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 4 | |
| Total | 40 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 266 | 53 | 17 | 1 | 45 | 8 | 330 | 62 | ||
- Includes Empress's Cup, Svenska Cupen Damer, Women's FA Cup
- Includes Nadeshiko League Cup, FA Women's League Cup
International
- As of match played 18 April 2026[22]
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 42 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hayashi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 August 2023 | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand |  Sweden |
1–2 | 1–2 | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | |
| 2 | 26 October 2023 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan |  India |
3–0 | 7–0 | 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | |
