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Rosa Kafaji

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Swedish footballer (born 2003)

Rosa Kafaji
Personal information
Full name Rusul Rosa Kafaji
Date of birth (2003-07-05) 5 July 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Solna, Sweden
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)
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 12 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 November 2024

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.

Club career

AIK (2019-2021)

Kafaji grew up in Akalla and started playing football in Kallhälls FF when she was eight years old. After that, Kafaji played for Bele Barkarby FF before she went to AIK before the 2015 season. 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. In the 2020 season, she scored 12 goals in 18 matches and helped AIK to be promoted to the Damallsvenskan.

BK Hacken (2022-2024)

In January 2022 she signed for Damallsvenskan club BK Hacken where she scored 28 goals in 61 appearances. She also made her debut in the UWCL scoring four goals in the 2023-24 season where Hacken made it to the quarter finals for the first time in club history. Because of her performance she was named as one of UEFAs ten players to watch in 2024. She ended her last season as club top scorer with 15 goals.

Arsenal (2024-Present)

On 13 August 2024, Kafaji joined Women's Super League club Arsenal on a long-term contract. On 20 October 2024, she scored her debut goal for Arsenal in a 2–0 away win over West Ham.

International career

In February 2021, Kafaji was selected for the Swedish women's national team for the first time. She earned her first cap on 31 October 2021, subbing in on the 86th minute during a 1-1 draw to Italy as part of the 2023-24 UWNL campaign.

In 2024 she was called up to join the National Team in the two UWNL 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.

Personal life

Kafaji was born to parents who are originally from Iraq and her father moved back there after her parents divorced.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 18 December 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 7 0 13 1
Career total 103 44 0 0 0 0 17 4 120 48

International

As of match played 28 November 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2023 2 0
2024 10 2
Total 12 2
Scores and results list Sweden's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kafaji goal.
List of international goals scored by Rosa Kafaji
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
2 28 November 2024 Dubočica Stadium, Leskovac, Serbia  Serbia 2–0 2–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-offs

Honours

Club

AIK

References

  1. "Profile of R. Kafaji". bkhacken.se. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. ^ "AIK Fotboll skriver treårskontrakt med Rosa Kafaji". aikfotboll.se. 24 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  3. UEFA.com. "The official website for European football". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  4. "Arsenal confirm Rosa Kafaji signing from Hacken". 13 August 2024. Archived from the original on 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  5. 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. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. "Rosa Kafaji uttagen till Svenska Damlandslaget". ungdomsfotboll.se. 9 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  7. "Sweden W vs Italy W Stats, H2H, Predictions, xG | FootyStats". footystats.org. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Rosa Rusul Kafaji - spelarstatistik". svenskfotboll.se. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. Niva, Erik. ”Aldrig känt att jag behövt vara någon annan än mig själv” Archived 22 May 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Aftonbladet, 21 mars 2021. Läst 21 mars 2021.

External links

Arsenal W.F.C. – current squad
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