Romaine Gandonou

In 2021, Gandonou was selected following a talent identification campaign organised by Tambours FC. She was among the first recruits when the club launched its women's section.^[2] She began her senior career in the second division with Aigle Royal, helping the team secure promotion to the top flight during the 2022–23 season. She later returned to Tambours FC the following season.

In the 2023–24 season in the Beninese Division 2 Féminine (D2), she became the top scorer with 53 goals in 14 matches, playing a decisive role in the team's promotion. In the following season, competing in la division 1 féminine (D1), she scored 19 goals in 15 matches, again finishing as the league's leading scorer.^[3] and was later named best player and top scorer at the Trophées Footeuses 229, the main individual awards in Beninese women's football.^[4]

Gandonou has progressed through the youth ranks of the Benin national teams, having represented the under-15, under-17 and under-20 sides before being called up to the senior national team.^[5] She rose to prominence during the qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, in which she has scored 11 goals in four matches to date, placing her as the leading scorers of the competition.^[6]

Her qualifying campaign has included four goals in a 5–1 win over Guinea^[7] and a hat-trick in a 4–0 victory against Egypt in Lomé, contributing to Benin's progression to the next round with a 5–0 aggregate score.^[8] She has also registered goals from long range during the campaign.

In February 2026, at the age of 15, she received her first call-up to the senior national team (Les Amazones) for friendly matches against Ivory Coast and Kenya. On 28 February, she scored her first senior international goal, converting a penalty in the 60th minute against Ivory Coast in a 2–1 defeat, after coming on as a substitute around the hour mark.^[9]