Five things to know about Singapore footballer Danelle Tan

SINGAPORE – Singapore national women’s footballer Danelle Tan, 18, was on Friday

announced as Dortmund Frauen’s latest signing

. She is the first Asian player to join the German club’s women’s team.

Here are five things to know about the teenager:

1. She is a trailblazer

Tan became the

first female Singaporean to play in a European league

in February, making her debut for London Bees, who compete in the FA Women’s National League South.

She impressed the club at trials and was invited to join the side. At the time of the signing, she was the club’s youngest player. She left at the end of the 2022/23 season in May, having netted twice in 12 appearances.

2. Youngest female goalscorer for Singapore 

At 14 years and 294 days, Tan became the country’s youngest player to score at senior international level. She achieved that feat in the Lionesses’ 2-1 loss to Timor Leste in the Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship in 2019.

That was not her only achievement in that year. She was also the second-youngest goalscorer at club level in the Football Association of Singapore’s Women’s National League, doing so at Still Aerion FC.

3. She has played football with boys

Tan will complete her A Level studies at Mill Hill School in London in June. As the school did not have a girls’ team, she became the first female player to join their boys’ team.

She raved about the standards of the team, saying that the physical demands were different from what she was used to.

4. Her football career started when she was six

Tan first fell in love with the sport at a tender age of six.

She

shared with CNBC

that she wanted to join her brothers, who were playing football every Saturday at an academy here. She even scored 12 goals in her first class, which showed her quality from the start.

5. Her idol is Vivianne Miedema

Vivianne Miedema is a Dutch professional footballer who plays at Arsenal. The 26-year-old is regarded as one of the best strikers in women’s football. 

Just like Tan, she played on boys’ teams in her youth. She signed her first professional contract at 14 and became the youngest player in the Eredivisie, the Netherlands’ top women’s league.