Haley Bugeja


Haley Bugeja is a Maltese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Inter Milan of Serie A and the Malta women's national team. She previously played for Sassuolo Calcio (women)|Sassuolo] in Italy and Orlando Pride in the NWSL, and has been highlighted by FIFA and local media among Europe’s top emerging talents.

Early life

Bugeja was born in Pietà on 5 May 2004. She began playing football at around five years old and initially trained with boys due to the lack of girls’ teams at her age group. In a 2021 report by the national broadcaster, she said she supports Liverpool F.C. and cited Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres among her early idols.

Club career

Mġarr United

Bugeja made her senior club debut at the age of 14 for Maltese Women's League club Mġarr United during the 2018–19 season. She finished the season as the league's top scorer with 26 goals and was named the league's Player of the Year at the Malta FA awards. Bugeja retained her player of the year title the following season although, despite matching her 26 goal total from the previous season, she was beaten to the golden boot by Loza Abera of Birkirkara who scored 30. Mġarr United finished second to Birkirkara in the league both seasons.

Sassuolo

In July 2020, Bugeja signed a three-year deal with Italian Serie A club Sassuolo. She made her debut for the club on 5 September 2020, at the age of 16, in Sassuolo's 3–1 win against Napoli Femminile|Napoli] and scored twice on debut.

Orlando Pride

On 1 July 2022, it was announced Bugeja had signed for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League through the end of the 2023 season. After five appearances across all competitions, Orlando transferred her to Italian Serie A club Inter Milan on 3 July 2023 for an undisclosed fee; Inter announced the move on 10 July 2023.

Inter Milan

Bugeja signed through 30 June 2026 and featured regularly for Inter in 2023–24 and 2024–25; local coverage in July 2025 noted a renewed deal and her intent to “push on” after an encouraging season. She has also featured for Inter in UEFA competition in 2025–26.

International career

Bugeja won her first senior cap for Malta as a 14-year-old in April 2019, starting a 2–0 friendly defeat by Romania in Bucharest. She scored her first goal in a 2–1 home friendly defeat by Turkey in January 2020. A first competitive goal arrived in March 2020, in a 2–1 home UEFA [Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B] win over Georgia. In November 2020 she scored a hat-trick in Malta's 4–0 win away to Georgia.
In 2025 Bugeja helped Malta clinch promotion to the Women's Nations League B, scoring her 24th senior international goal to seal victory over Cyprus; reports tallied her at 24 goals in 40 caps at that point.

Career statistics

International goals

No.DateCapVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–11–2Friendly
25Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta2–02–1Euro 2022 qualifying Group B|Euro 2022 qualifying]
38Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia1–04–0UEFA [Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B|Euro 2022 qualifying]
48Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia2–04–0Euro 2022 qualifying
58Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia3–04–0Euro 2022 qualifying
69Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel2–02–0Euro 2022 qualifying
712Hibernians Stadium, Paola, Malta3–13–12022 Malta International Tournament
816Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–12–1Friendly
916Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta2–12–1Friendly
1018Sportland Arena, Tallinn, Estonia1–02–1Friendly
1119Sloka Stadium, Jūrmala, Latvia1–01–02023–24 [UEFA Women's Nations League C]
1220Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–02–02023–24 UEFA Women's [Nations League C]
1320Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta2–02–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C
1421Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–05–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C
1521Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta3–05–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C
1622Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra1–03–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C
1722Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra2–03–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C
1822Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra3–03–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C

Honours