is a Japanese

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 for

NJ/NY Gotham FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 201 ...

. A full international since 2008, she won gold at the 2011 World Cup as well as silver at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and 2015 World Cup. During the 2011 World Cup, she scored two goals—including a lob at 35 yards away against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

during the semifinals—helping

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

eventually win the tournament for the first time in its history.

Early life

Kawasumi was raised in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

about 40 minutes south of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

where she began playing soccer as a youth following the lead of her older sister. She played for the Rinkan Lemons while in elementary school along with future Japanese national team defender

Megumi Kamionobe is a Japanese football player. She plays for Albirex Niigata and formerly played for the Japan national team. Club career Kamionobe was born in Yokohama on 15 March 1986. After graduating from Musashigaoka College, she joined Albirex Niigata ...

. Kawasumi and Kamionobe scored approximately 70% of the team's goals. Kawasumi attended

Nippon Sport Science University , abbreviated as , is a private university in Setagaya, Tokyo and Aoba-ku, Yokohama. The precursor of the school was founded in 1893, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The school is known for the many famous athletes among its alumni. ...

Playing career

Club

INAC Kobe Leonessa, 2008–2016

Kawasumi signed with

INAC Kobe Leonessa INAC Kobe is a Japanese football club from Kobe, founded in 2001. INAC stands for International Athletic Club while Leonessa means Lioness in Italian. In 2006 INAC Leonessa was promoted to the Nadeshiko.League, where it has played since 2020. ...

in 2008. In 2011, she was named the league's most valuable player after captaining INAC to its first league championship title. The team finished the 2011 season with a 12–3–0 record and 39 points. During the 2013 season, Kawasumi was named the league's most valuable player for a second time. Her twelve goals were second only to her teammate

Beverly Goebel Beverly Goebel Yanez (born Beverly June Goebel; July 19, 1988) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who is currently the assistant coach of Racing Louisville FC and most recently at NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's So ...

. She was also named to the league's Best Eleven team for the fourth year in a row. INAC finished first in the league with a 16–0–2 record securing their third championship in three consecutive years. Their 48 points were 10 more than second place team

Nippon TV Beleza is a women's football team which plays in Japan's WE League. History The club was founded as named ''Yomiuri SC Ladies Beleza'' as women's club of Yomiuri SC (currently ''Tokyo Verdy'') by Yomiuri Shimbun in 1981.2013 International Women's Club Championship, Kawasumi scored INAC's second goal during their 3–0 semi-final win against Chilean team, Colo-Colo Femenino. INAC Kobe won the tournament with a 4–2 win over

Chelsea L.F.C. Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

in the final. In September 2014, Kawasumi returned to INAC Kobe Leonessa after she finished the

2014 NWSL season The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2 ...

for

Seattle Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

on loan.

=Seattle Reign FC, 2014 (loan)

= In February 2014, Kawasumi signed with

on loan for the

2014 National Women's Soccer League season The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (20 ...

. After scoring two goals including the game-winning goal against the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

to lift Seattle to a 3–2 win on 6 July 2014, Kawasumi was named

NWSL Player of the Week The National Women's Soccer League Player of the Week is a weekly soccer award given to individual players in the National Women's Soccer League. The honor is awarded to the player deemed to have put in the best performances over the past week by ...

. A few weeks later during a match against the 2013 champions

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

, Kawasumi scored two goals and served an assist to help the Reign win 5–0. She was subsequently named

for the second time during week 16 of the season. Kawasumi finished the 2014 season, having scored 9 goals and provided 5 assists. And she was selected to the NWSL Best XI for the 2014 Season.

Seattle Reign FC, 2016–2018

In June 2016, Kawasumi re-signed with

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

club

. Kawasumi scored a brace on her debut against the

just days after re-signing, earning her

honors. Despite her efforts, the Reign finished fifth in the

2016 NWSL season The 2016 National Women's Soccer League season was the fourth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer ( ...

, missing the play-offs for the first time in three years. Kawasumi played in all ten matches for the Reign after re-signing, starting eight and scoring three goals. On 13 May 2017, Kawasumi set a new NWSL single-game record with four assists in a 6–2 win over the Washington Spirit. She continued her good run of form in the rest of the 2017 season, playing in all 24 games and scoring six goals. Despite her contribution, Seattle again finished fifth and missed the play-offs. Following the arrival of new head coach

Vlatko Andonovski Vlatko Andonovski ( mk, Влатко Андоновски; born 14 September 1976) is a Macedonian-American soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the United States women's national team. Andonovski previously coach ...

, Kawasumi saw her playing time diminish and finished the 2018 season scoreless. During the offseason, Kawasumi asked for a trade to maximize her playing time ahead of 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 ...

and the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in her home country.

=INAC Kobe Leonessa, 2016 (loan)

= Following the conclusion of

, Kawasumi signed with former club

on loan for the rest of its 2016 L.League season. She helped the club win the 2016 Empress's Cup despite not playing in the final.

Sky Blue FC, 2019–

On 15 January 2019,

traded Kawasumi to fellow

club

Sky Blue FC NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

in exchange for American forward

Shea Groom Shea Ellese Groom (born March 4, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League. Groom played collegiate soccer for Texas A&M Aggies before starting her profession ...

International

Carli Lloyd Nahomi Kawasumi Japan vs USA

Kawasumi began playing for the Japan national team, also known as Nadeshiko Japan, in 2008. She scored her first international goal against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

at the

2011 Algarve Cup The 2011 Algarve Cup was the eighteenth edition of the Algarve Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Portugal. It took place between 2–9 March 2011. Format The twelve invited teams were split into three groups that p ...

2011 World Cup

During the semi-final match of the 2011 World Cup against Sweden, Kawasumi scored two goals helping Japan win 3–1 and advance to the final against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Kawasumi was in the starting line-up for the first time during the game and scored the equalizer in the 18th minute and the game-winning goal in the 64th. Japan eventually defeated the United States in penalty kicks to clinch the gold medal.

2012 London Olympics

Kawasumi was named to Japan's roster for the

and scored her first goal of the tournament during the team' first group stage match against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Japan defeated Canada 2–1. Japan finished second in their group after tying both

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

0–0. After defeating

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

2–0 in the quarter-finals, Japan faced

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the semi-finals and won 2–1 advancing to the final. The team was defeated 2–1 by the United States in the final earning Japan a silver medal at the tournament. Kawasumi finished the tournament having played in every match for Japan and scoring one goal.

2015 World Cup

Kawasumi remained an integral part of the Nadeshiko side, helping the team finish runners-up in the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...

. Her cross forced a last-minute own goal by English defender

Laura Bassett Laura Bassett (born 2 August 1983) is an English former football defender who represented England internationally. She played for FA WSL club Notts County, Birmingham City (two separate spells), Arsenal, Leeds Carnegie, Chelsea, and Australian ...

and sent Japan into the final.

2018–

Following Japan's failed qualification to the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, new national team head coach

Asako Takakura , also known as Asako Takakura-Takemoto or Asako Takemoto due to her marriage, is a Japanese football manager and former player. She played for Japan national team. She is a former manager of the Japan national team. Her husband is former footb ...

left off many veterans (including Kawasumi) in favor of younger players. However, Kawasumi was surprisingly recalled to the Nadeshiko in March 2018, following a two-year absence. Her experience helped the team lift the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. Faced with a real chance to make Japan's

roster and with playing time diminished at

, Kawasumi requested a trade and joined

in January 2019.

Career statistics

Club

National team

Japan Football Association
/ref>

Honors

; Japan national team *

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...

:''Champion'':

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

:''Runner-Up'':

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

: ''Silver Medal'':

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

: ''Gold Medal'':

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

: ''Gold Medal'':

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

: ''Bronze Medal'':

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

; INAC Kobe Leonessa *

L.League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respective ...

:''Champion'': 2011, 2012, 2013 *

Empress's Cup , since 2018 renamed "Empress's Cup JFA Japan Women's Football Championship" ( ja, 皇后杯 JFA 全日本女子サッカー選手権大会) or The Empress's Cup, is a Japanese Women's football competition. As an elimination tournament, it can be ...

: ''Champion'': 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 *

Nadeshiko League Cup The Nadeshiko League Cup (Japanese: なでしこリーグカップ) is a cup competition for women's football clubs in Japan. The competition began as the L.League Cup in 1996 and it was abolished after the 1999 edition. It reappeared on the occ ...

: ''Champion'': 2013 * International Women's Club Championship : ''Champion'': 2013 ; Seattle Reign FC *

: ''Shield (regular season winners)'': 2014 ; Individual *

Japan Women's Football League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football league in Japan. The Nadeshiko League consists of two divisions that correspond to the second and third levels of the Japanese women's football pyramid respective ...

:''MVP'': 2011, 2013 :''Top Scorers (1): 2011'' :''Best XI: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013'' *

:''Player of the Week'': Week 13, Week 16 ( 2014 season); Week 11 ( 2016 season); Week 5 ( 2017 season) :''Best XI: 2014''

Personal life

Endorsements

Kawasumi has appeared in commercials for

CalorieMate CalorieMate (カロリーメイト ''karorīmeito'') is a brand of nutritional energy bar and energy gel foods produced by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., in Japan. It was first released in 1983 debuting with a cheese flavored block. CalorieMate com ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, and skin care line Acnelogy.

References

External links

* * * *
Japan Football Association
* – Kawasumi's Official Blog (Japanese)
Seattle Reign player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawasumi, Nahomi 1985 births Living people People from Yamato, Kanagawa Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games medalists in football Association football people from Kanagawa Prefecture Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2014 Asian Games INAC Kobe Leonessa players Japan women's international footballers Japanese women's footballers Japanese expatriate footballers Japanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States Nadeshiko League players Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics National Women's Soccer League players Nippon Sport Science University alumni Olympic footballers of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in football OL Reign players Women's association football forwards Women's association football midfielders 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup players NJ/NY Gotham FC players Nadeshiko League MVPs