“Being the first, I hope to not be the last and encourage others to do the same”
21-year-old Mataliki defender, Laveni Vaka has become the first Tongan female professional soccer player after being the 13th pick in the fourth round of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League Draft by California’s, Bay Football Club on Tuesday 16th of January.
Shown on Television a lot of emotions by Laveni and her family the moment she was drafted by the Bay FC expresses the sacrifices that Laveni and her family made throughout her career.
“This achievement is huge to me and my family and my mother made lots of sacrifices to help be where I am today. We moved states & cities for a better life and this is what she wanted for my sister and I”.
“Achieving this goal of mine is a testament of hard work and discipline. My family is my number 1 supporting system and they have seen my twin sister and I play since we were 8 years old. We missed lots of reunions, school parties, schools, etc. just for soccer. They know the work I’ve put in to be here and they have supported me through this journey”. Laveni to TFA Website
Although the excitement and smiling faces carries the feelings of her success but having become the first Tongan Female professional soccer player was something Laveni never thought of.
“I never thought I would be the First female Tongan professional soccer player and it means the world to me. I know my grandparents would be proud.”
“My hope has always been to get more Polynesian and Tongans into soccer. There are endless opportunities through this sport. Being the first, I hope to not be the last and encourage others to do the same.”
Speaking directly to TFA Website, Laveni acknowledges the clubs and schools that helped her through her journey on playing soccer in America.
“I started playing soccer when I was 8 soccer in San Mateo, California for American youth soccer association (AYSO). From there I played on another club team called Gryphons and that’s where I developed the basic technical skills like dribbling and passing.”
“At the age of 9 I moved to Utah and played for a team called Bombers FC where the team was competitive and so was the competition. I believe this is where I started to notice how good I was and could further my career with soccer.”
“Later on I played on a travel team all through middle school and high school. That’s when I got recruited by multiple Division 1 colleges to play soccer. I ended up at Brigham Young University which is one of the top college soccer programs in America which helped prepare me to get to my current team, Bay Fc”.
Bay Football Club has taken the chance on Laveni to be one of America’s greatest, now she has to prove the benefit of her inclusion for the team.
“Bay Fc is an expansion team and we currently have 16 players on the team and I am one of them. We will be going through camp in two weeks and my job is to show up everyday and earn a contract”.
“At the end of the day, the names on the roster at the end of the camp are who is on the team so things can change. I need to be one of those names on that final roster”. Laveni explains to TFA Website.
Laveni made her debut on the International level Soccer when she and her twin sister Daviana Vaka played for the Tonga National Women’s team in the 2018 OFC Women’s Nations Cup.
They appeared again in the first Mataliki team that competed in the 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup in Suva where she was named the best player of the quarter-final match against Papua New Guinea after providing amazing assists that ended 90 Minutes game on a draw 2-2.
“I want to play for Mataliki soon. With Bay Fc being an expansion team, I want to make this club great and apply myself to the team as best as I can.”
“It will be my rookie year and I need to make a name for myself. As for international duties I hope to contribute to the Mataliki team soon.”
Laveni Vaka is now the second Tongan Professional Soccer Player since Australian born Ata ‘AJ’ Inia became the first Tongan pro-footballer in 2020, and is currently playing as a forward for Thai League 2 club Phrae United.
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