SINGAPORE – While her peers were hunting for jobs before graduation in 2023, Singapore footballer Clara Lau was looking for an overseas club to further her sporting career.

The attacking midfielder, 26, has had to put her dream of playing overseas on hold, until she graduated from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in sport science and management last June.

With a carefully curated highlights reel of her playing career, she knocked on the doors of Australian clubs, several of whom responded to her e-mail with interest.

In January, she flew over for trials with three teams before signing a one-year deal with Melbourne-based Spring Hills.

Sporting Hills compete in the Victorian Premier League Women’s (VPLW), effectively the third tier of women’s football in Australia.

Lau, whose only international appearance came in a friendly against Indonesia in 2022, told The Straits Times during a call from Melbourne: “I have been waiting to take that leap of faith for some time now,

“But I really needed to ensure that I finished school first... now that I am done with it, it was the perfect time to go and work on getting an overseas chance.”

Explaining her desire to step out of her comfort zone, Lau, who played for Hougang United in the 2023 Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL), said: “Going overseas has always been the option. In Singapore, most girls treat football as a hobby.

“I am very passionate about the sport, I want to really improve as much as I can. Even in training here, the intensity is much higher than I am used to.”

Lau follows several other Lionesses who have also packed their bags for Down Under recently.

Two others also compete in the VPLW – Stephanie Dominguez, 25, a midfielder with Tampines Rovers in the 2023 WPL, who has signed a one-year deal with Casey Comets, and goalkeeper Hazel Lim, who has joined Southern United.

Venetia Lim, a member of the Lion City Sailors’ 2022 and 2023 WPL-winning sides, has been recruited by Boroondara-Carey Eagles for the 2024 National Premier League Women’s (NPLW) Victoria season.

The NPLW Victoria, considered one of the best state leagues for women in Australia, is the second tier of women’s football there, below the professional A-League Women’s, although there is no promotion and relegation between the two leagues.

Venetia, a 20-year-old midfielder who has over 15 national team appearances, will be juggling football with her studies. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in commerce (finance and marketing) at the University of Melbourne.

Venetia, who has ambitions to play in the A-League, said: “I was really comfortable and happy playing for Sailors and the national team. As comfortable as I am in Singapore, I recognise that to accelerate my growth, I need to expand beyond my comfort zone abroad and challenge myself.”

Dominguez’s move came about after she decided to make her “own dream come true”.

Like Lau, she approached Australian clubs through her contacts and sent them clips of her previous matches.

Dominguez, who has over 30 caps, said: “If I stay on in Singapore, I don’t think I will see progress in my game.

“In fact, I felt like the two weeks of trials opened my eyes to plenty of things I am lacking in. I am looking forward to becoming a better player in my time here.”

The trio’s moves bring the number of overseas-based Singapore women’s players to at least 15, including midfielder Priscilla Tan, 30, who turns out for North Lakes United in the 2024 Football Queensland Premier League 1. She has been in Australia since 2018.

Others include forward Danelle Tan, who is with German club Borussia Dortmund, and the six Unleash the Roar! scholarship recipients who are at the IMG Academy in the United States and ESC La Liga in Spain.

Lionesses coach Karim Bencherifa is confident that, with more players broadening their horizons and a host of local-based teenage players breaking into the national team, the future looks bright for women’s football in Singapore.

The Lionesses’ main competition for 2024 will be the Asean Women’s Championship, the dates of which have not been announced.

Bencherifa, appointed in February 2023, showed ST the reports that he has been compiling on overseas-based players after watching available clips.

The Moroccan said: “Australia, England, Scotland and USA, these are references in women’s football.

“So the fact that our players are going to these places is good news, because the players will develop individually in every aspect of the game.

“And it will help us because since I came in, I have been trying to implement a professional approach to local women’s football.

“I’m very optimistic about the future. The national team will definitely get better and we will get stronger.”

Female Singapore players who are based overseas

1. Hazel Lim, 21, goalkeeper, Southern United (Australia) 

2. Venetia Lim, 20, midfielder, Boroondara-Carey Eagles (Australia)

3. Clara Lau, 26, midfielder, Spring Hills (Australia) 

4. Priscilla Tan, 30, midfielder, North Lakes United (Australia) 

5. Stephanie Dominguez, 25, midfielder, Casey Comets (Australia)

6. Putri Nur Syaliza Sazali, 20, midfielder, Oakland University (United States)

7. Danelle Tan, 19, forward, Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

8. Nicole Lim, 21, forward, University of Edinburgh (Scotland)

9. Summer Chong, 19, forward, Springfield College (United States)

10. Unleash the Roar scholarship recipients: Six with IMG Academy in United States and ESC La Liga in Spain.