Rusul Rosa Kafaji (born 5 July 2003) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the Sweden national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rusul Rosa Kafaji | ||
| Date of birth | 5 July 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Solna, Sweden | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | AIK | 46 | (19) |
| 2022–2024 | BK Häcken | 39 | (17) |
| 2024– | Arsenal | 6 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2020 | Sweden U17 | 20 | (5) |
| 2021 | Sweden U19 | 5 | (4) |
| 2021–2023 | Sweden U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 2023– | Sweden | 11 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 October 2024 | |||
Club career
editKafaji grew up in Akalla and started playing football in Kallhälls FF when she was eight years old.[2] After that, Kafaji played for Bele Barkarby FF before she went to AIK before the 2015 season.[2] Kafaji made her debut for the A-team in the Elitettan in 2019 and scored four goals and three assists in seven matches during the season.[2] In the 2020 season, she scored 12 goals in 18 matches and helped AIK to be promoted to the Damallsvenskan.
On 13 August 2024, Kafaji joined Women's Super League club Arsenal on a long-term contract.[3] On 20 October 2024, she scored her debut goal for Arsenal in a 2–0 away win over West Ham.[4]
International career
editIn February 2021, Kafaji was selected for the Swedish women's national team for the first time.[5]
In 2024 she was called up to join the National Team in the two Nations League playoff games against Bosnia-Herzegovina on February 23 and 28. She started both games and scored her first goal for the Swedish senior women's team in the latter one.[6]
Personal life
editKafaji was born to parents who are originally from Iraq and her father moved back there after her parents divorced.[7]
Career statistics
editClub
As of matches played 21 November 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| AIK | 2019 | Elitettan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 12 | ||||
| 2021 | Damallsvenskan | 26 | 6 | ? | ? | — | — | 26 | 6 | |||
| Total | 46 | 19 | ? | ? | — | — | 46 | 19 | ||||
| BK Häcken | 2022 | Damallsvenskan | 1 | 0 | ? | ? | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 26 | 12 | ? | ? | — | — | 26 | 12 | ||||
| 2024 | 24 | 11 | ? | ? | — | 10 | 4 | 34 | 15 | |||
| Total | 51 | 24 | ? | ? | — | 10 | 4 | 61 | 28 | |||
| Arsenal | 2024–25 | WSL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 103 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 69 | 29 | ||
International
edit- As of match played 29 October 2024[6]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total | 11 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kafaji goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 February 2024 | Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
3–0 | 5–0 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League |
Honours
editClub
edit- AIK
Winners
References
edit- ^ "Profile of R. Kafaji". bkhacken.se. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ a b c "AIK Fotboll skriver treårskontrakt med Rosa Kafaji". aikfotboll.se. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Arsenal confirm Rosa Kafaji signing from Hacken". 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Burton, Chris (20 October 2024). "Arsenal women's player ratings vs West Ham: Stina Blackstenius stars after replacing anonymous Alessia Russo as Mariona Caldentey and Rosa Kafaji fire manager-less Gunners to much-needed WSL win". Goal.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ "Rosa Kafaji uttagen till Svenska Damlandslaget". ungdomsfotboll.se. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Rosa Rusul Kafaji - spelarstatistik". svenskfotboll.se. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
- ^ Niva, Erik. ”Aldrig känt att jag behövt vara någon annan än mig själv”, Aftonbladet, 21 mars 2021. Läst 21 mars 2021.
External links
edit- Rosa Kafaji at Soccerway