Vivienne Lia
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 September 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | England | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hammarby (on loan from Arsenal) | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Whetstone Wanderers | |||
| Arsenal | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Southampton (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 2025–2026 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Hammarby (loan) | 2 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022–2023 | England U17 | 5 | (2) |
| 2024–2025 | England U19 | 18 | (4) |
| 2025– | England U20 | 3 | (1) |
| 2026– | England U23 | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 April 2026 [2] ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 April 2026 [3] | |||
Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia (born 27 September 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Damallsvenskan club Hammarby, on loan from Arsenal, and the England under-20s.
Lia grew up in North London, as the youngest of five siblings,[4] and is a life-long Arsenal fan.[5] She joined Whetstone Wanderers at the age of 10, followed by the Arsenal Women's Academy at the age of 14.[4] Lia made 4 appearances for the academy team in the 2023–24 season, scoring one goal.[1]
Club career
Arsenal
Lia made her senior debut for Arsenal at the age of 17 on 14 February 2024 against London City Lionesses in the quarter-finals of the Women's League Cup, replacing Katie McCabe in the 82nd minute.[6] She then made her second appearance for the Gunners in their League Cup semi-final, a 4–0 win over Aston Villa, coming on in the 90th minute to replace Frida Maanum.[7]
Lia started for the Gunners in their 2024 post-season 1–0 win against A-League All-Stars Women, providing the assist for the only goal of the game, scored by fellow striker Alessia Russo.[8][9] Later in the summer, Lia started in Arsenal's first pre-season match against Washington Spirit, before being replaced by Steph Catley in the 78th minute.[10]
Lia signed her first professional contract with Arsenal on 14 January 2025.[11][12]
Southampton F.C. (loan)
On 18 January 2025, Women's Championship side Southampton F.C. announced that Lia had signed on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season,[13] where she went on to make 9 appearances across all competitions for the club.[2]
Nottingham Forest (loan)
On 3 September 2025, Arsenal announced that Lia would spend the 2025–26 season on loan at Nottingham Forest.[14] Lia made her debut for the Garibaldi Reds off the bench in the 68th minute of Nottingham's opening game of the 2025–26 season, a 1–2 loss against Newcastle United.[15] Lia was recalled from her loan to Nottingham Forest on the final day of the 2026 winter transfer window, having made 12 appearances for Forest across all competitions.[16]
Hammarby (loan)
On 9 February 2026, joined Swedish club Hammarby in the Damallsvenskan for the remainder of the 2025–26 WSL season, and the beginning of the 2026 season.[17]
Lia made her debut for Hammarby in the Svenska Cuppen, in 4 - 0 win against FC Rosengård. She then made her Damallsvenskan debut against the same, in a 3 - 1 win where she picked up her first goal for the Swedish side.[18]
International career
Lia has represented the England under-17, under-19, under-20 and under-23 national teams.
Lia received her first under-17 call-up in October 2022 for the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification rounds,[19] which saw England play Ukraine, hosts Estonia, and Denmark. She scored her first goal at Under-17 level in a 10 - 0 win against Ukraine.[20] Lia was then named in the squad for the second qualifying round,[21] which saw England claim their place at the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship Finals but did not make the Finals squad.
Over a year after her last England call-up, Lia received her first Under-19 call-up in April 2024. Named by head coach John Griffiths for the second round of the under-19 Championship qualification,[22] she helped the youth team qualify for the finals of the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Lia then featured in the squad for the finals of the 2024 European Championship,[23] in which England were knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain.[24]
Lia was selected for both round one and round two of qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship,[25][26] scoring three goals in the second round to help England qualify for the Finals tournament.[3] In February 2025, she was again called up to the under-19 squad, alongside Saints teammates Araya Dennis and Laila Harbert, for the Albir Garden Tournament.[27] In June 2025, new manager Lauren Smith announced her squad for the finals of the 2025 European Under-19 Championship in Poland, with Lia's name down as one of 6 young Arsenal players.[28]
Named as a injury replacement for Lauren Smith's England Under-20 squad, Lia made her debut for the Under-20s in a 2-1 win against China PR.[29] She then scored her first goal for the Under-20 Young Lionesses just 6 days later in a 2-3 win over Mexico.[30]
Lia was named as a replacement in Lydia Bedford's first England Under-23 squad, replacing Keira Barry who was called up to the senior team.[31] Lia made her debut for the Under-23 side in the final minute of the Young Lionesses' 1-0 semi-final win over the Netherlands.[32]
