Kayla Jay McKenna (; born 3 September 1996) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Spanish

Liga F The Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino, currently known as Liga F (finetwork Liga F for sponsorship reasons), is the highest level of league competition for women's football in Spain. It is the women's equivalent of the men's La Lig ...

club

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, th ...

. Born in the United States, she plays for the Jamaica women's national team.

Club career

Houston Dash

In April 2019, McCoy signed with the Houston Dash ahead of the 2019 season.

Rangers

In May 2021, McCoy started training with Rangers, leading to her signing with the club three months later.

Villarreal

In July 2023, McKenna signed with Villarreal in Spain.

International career

McCoy made her debut for Jamaica in a 1–0 friendly win against Chile on 28 February 2019. She was named to the 23-player Jamaica squad for the

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

in France. However, because of a knee injury prior the tournament, she had to be replaced by Mireya Grey.

International goals

''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first''

Personal life

McCoy's grandparents were born in Jamaica. Her grandfather is

Pearnel Charles Pearnel Charles (born 1936) is a Jamaican politician with the Jamaica Labour Party who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Early life Charles was born in 1936 in the parish of St. Ann. He attended Lime Tree Garden Elementary School ...

. In June 2022, Kayla McCoy married

Ciaran McKenna Ciaran Paul McKenna (born 25 March 1998) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a centre back or right back. McKenna has previously played for Falkirk, Hamilton Academical, Partick Thistle and Queen of the South. Early life McKe ...

in Oak Park, Illinois, USA.

Honours

Houston Dash *

NWSL Challenge Cup The NWSL Challenge Cup, currently known as the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tournament organized by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-tier women's league in the United States soccer league system. Th ...

: 2020 Rangers *

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football League ...

: 2021–22 *

Scottish Women's Premier League Cup The Scottish Women's Premier League Cup or SWPL Cup is a league cup competition in women's football in Scotland. The Cup is open only to the teams in the Scottish Women's Premier League. There are four rounds, including the final. The competition ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* City of Glasgow Woman's Cup: 2022

References

External links

* 1996 births Living people Citizens of Jamaica through descent Jamaican women's footballers Women's association football forwards Jamaica women's international footballers Jamaican people of American descent People from Skokie, Illinois Soccer players from Cook County, Illinois American women's soccer players Duke Blue Devils women's soccer players Houston Dash draft picks Houston Dash players Rangers W.F.C. players Villarreal CF (women) players National Women's Soccer League players African-American women's soccer players American sportspeople of Jamaican descent 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Scotland American expatriate sportspeople in Spain Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in Spain American expatriate women's soccer players Jamaican expatriate women's footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Scottish Women's Premier League players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players {{US-footy-forward-stub