Tahnai Annis
Filipino footballer (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tahnai Lauren Rivera Annis (born June 20, 1989) is a retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for Úrvalsdeild kvenna club Þór/KA from 2012 to 2014 and in 2023. Born in the United States, she also captained the Philippines women's national team.[1]
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Annis in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Tahnai Lauren Rivera Annis | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | June 20, 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ohio, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Florida Gators | 96 | (38) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Þór/KA | 54 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Þór/KA | 18 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2024 | Philippines | 43 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Averett Cougars (asst.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals as of 11:21; December 29, 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life and education
Tahnai Annis was born on June 20, 1989 in Ohio in the United States.[2][3] She was born to Rusty and Myla Annis. Rusty is a South Bend, Indiana native while Myla is a Filipino woman who hails from Quezon City.[4][5] From 1993 to 1996, the Annis family lived in Columbus, Ohio where the Annis patriarch worked as a physical therapist at Southern Indiana Orthopedics (SIO). The family moved to Zanesville after the Columbus Regional Hospital bought SIO.[4]
She attended the Tri-Valley High School for three years before moving to Pickerington High School North in her fourth year.[4] She graduated from the University of Florida in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in sports management with a minor in business administration. She entered Averett University to pursue a master's degree in business administration which has a focus in marketing.[6]
College career
Annis played for the women's soccer team of the University of Florida at NCAA Division I from 2008 to 2011. She scored a total of 38 goals and made 16 assists in 96 matches for the Gators. In 2008, Annis became part of the SEC All-Freshman Team and SoccerBuzz.com Freshman All-America squad and in 2010 was also an All-American and member of the Southeastern Conference's All-Second Team.[6]
Club career
After college, Annis was drafted to the Western New York Flash for the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite but the league folded.[4]
She played professionally for Þór/KA of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the top flight women's league in Iceland, from 2012 to 2014. She helped the club win the league title in 2012 and earned the club's 2013 MVP award.[6] She has played at the UEFA Women's Champions League with the Icelandic club.[7] Annis left the club in 2014.[3]
She joined the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League during the pre-season but later took an assistant coaching job with Averett University.[4]
Annis returned to Þór/KA in January 2023. She signed a one-year contract with the team.[3][8] For most of 2024, she would reflect if she was still able to play competitive football. She announced her retirement from professional football by the end of the year citing her age.[9][10]
International career
Tahnai Annis was potentially eligible to play for the Philippines women's national football team through her Filipino mother. She joined an identification camp in California in 2015. However, her international career was delayed by the fact that her mother is already naturalized American citizen at the time of Tahnai's birth. Her mother had to apply for a dual citizenship.[4]
She joined the national team in January 2018 in a training camp in the United States and eventually named as part of the final roster of the Philippines for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Jordan and was designated as captain.[5] Annis was able to obtain a Philippine passport in time for the tournament.[4] Patrice Impelido also serves as co-captain for the national team for the continental tournament.[1]
In the Philippines' first group stage match against host Jordan which ended in a 2–1 win, Annis had her first international cap.[11] Annis scored her first goal for the Philippines in their 2–1 win against Nepal in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers held in September 2021.[12]
Annis also led the Philippine squad that won its first ever ASEAN Football Federation tournament title as its captain – the 2022 AFF Women's Championship.[13]
She announced her retirement from professional football in December 2024.[10] She last played in April 2024 in two pair of friendlies against South Korea.[14][15]
Coaching career
The women's soccer team of Averett University had Annis as their assistant coach.[6] Annis was also part of the coaching staff of the Philippines U17 team led by head coach Sinisa Cohadzic which competed in the 2024 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup[16]
Personal life
Openly a member of the LGBT community, Annis is an Athlete Ally pro ambassador.[17][18][19]
Career statistics
Club
- Includes Icelandic Women's Football Cup
- Includes Icelandic Super Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Women's Champions League
International
- Scores and results list the Philippines' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Annis goal.
Honours
Þór/KA
- Úrvalsdeild kvenna: 2012
- Icelandic Women's Cup runner-up: 2013
- Icelandic Super Cup: 2013
Philippines
- Southeast Asian Games third place: 2021
- AFF Women's Championship: 2022