Rosella Ayane


Rosella Ayane is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Leicester City and the Morocco national team. She has previously played for teams such as Chelsea, Bristol City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Internationally, Ayane represented England at under-17 and under-19 level before being capped at senior level by Morocco.
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Early life

Born in Reading to a Moroccan father and a Scottish mother, Ayane attended Maiden Erlegh School.

Club career

Chelsea

Ayane started her career with Chelsea after coming through the club's Centre of Excellence. She began in the youth system, in 2012 she was a part of the Chelsea U17 that won the league and cup double. She made her first-team debut in August 2013 against Doncaster Rovers Belles; Chelsea won. Three more appearances followed against Everton, Bristol City and Notts County before Ayane was selected as part of Chelsea's squad for the 2013 International Women's Club Championship, she played twice as Chelsea finished second. On 30 August, Ayane scored four goals against London Bees in the FA WSL Cup in an 8–0 victory.

Loan spells

After making four appearances in all competitions for Chelsea in 2014, Ayane was loaned out in 2015 to Millwall; a team she scored twice against for Chelsea in 2015 in the FA WSL Cup. After a few months with Millwall, she returned to her parent club. 2016 saw a loan move to Bristol City, with whom she made nine appearances and scored three goals in all competitions before returning to Chelsea after Bristol manager Willie Kirk decided against extending her loan. A few weeks after leaving Bristol, she was loaned out as Everton became her fourth career club. She scored her first Everton goal on 17 July in a 3–0 win over Yeovil Town.

Apollon Limassol

In August 2017, Ayane joined Cypriot First Division side Apollon Limassol. She scored on her debut for the club, getting the opening goal in a 4–0 home win in the first match of Group 5 in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League qualifying round against NSA Sofia. On the second matchday, versus Noroc Nimoreni of Moldova, she scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 victory. Ayane followed that up with a goal in the final qualifying group match against Sturm Graz to help advance Apollon into the knockout phase. She netted on her league debut for Apollon on 5 November, scoring the opening goal in a 16–0 win over Champions Ypsona.
In total, she scored nineteen goals in nineteen games in all competitions in her debut season. In April 2018, she was voted into the Players' Team of the Season.

Bristol City

On 18 August 2018, Ayane completed a move to rejoin former loan club Bristol City. One goal in eighteen appearances followed across 2018–19.

Tottenham Hotspur

In July 2019, Ayane moved across the FA WSL to newly promoted Tottenham Hotspur. Her first appearance for Tottenham was against Everton as a substitute on 13 September 2020 and her first goal came in a game against Aston Villa on 13 December 2020.
In the 2023–24 FA Cup, after being down 2-0 to Sheffield United, Ayane came on as a substitute in the 66th minute. Spurs drew level, and then Ayane scored the winning goal in the 96th minute.
On 14 July 2023, Ayane signed a new contract with the club until June 2025.
On 27 June 2025, Tottenham confirmed the departure of Ayane at the end of her contract. One of the teams longest serving players, the Morocco international completed 109 games, scoring 12 goals in total across all competitions.

Chicago Red Stars (loan)

On 31 August 2024, the Chicago Red Stars announced that they had signed Ayane to a loan through the end of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League season. She made her debut for the team on 20 October, in a 2–0 loss to the Washington Spirit. Ayane did not make any further appearances for the Red Stars before her loan spell expired.

Leicester City

On 4 September 2025, Ayane signed a one-year contract with fellow Women's Super League club Leicester City.

International career

Ayane has played for England at Under-17 and Under-19 level. Between 2011 and 2012 she won seven caps and scored one goal. In 2014, Ayane made her debut for the England U19s and scored the second goal in a 2–0 win. A year later she scored her second goal for England U19s in a 2–2 draw against Norway in a 2015 UEFA U19 Championship qualifier, a match that was replayed in extraordinary circumstances after a refereeing error. In total, Ayane made 17 appearances and scored 3 goals for the U17s and U19s respectively.
Due to her Moroccan father, she was eligible to represent Morocco and made her debut in June 2021, scoring within a minute of entering the field in a 3–0 victory over Mali. Previously, she almost chose Scotland, partly due to her mother's wish for her to become a member of the Scottish squad.
Ayane took part in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco. She started in all six matches and scored two goals, including one in the final. She secured Morocco’s place in the final, scoring the decisive penalty over Nigeria, winning them 5-4, as well as securing their first appearance at a World Cup. Morocco finished second in the final, as they were defeated 2–1 in the final against South Africa.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1Stade Moulay Hassan, Rabat, Morocco1–03–0Friendly
2Hibernians Stadium, Paola, Malta2–04–02022 Malta International Women's Football Tournament
3Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco3–06–1Friendly
4Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco1–02–0Friendly
5Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco2–02–0Friendly
6Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco1–03–12022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
7Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco1–21–22022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
8Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey1–03–0Friendly
9Arslan Zeki Demirci Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey1–02–0Friendly
1027 September 2023Stade Moulay Hassan, Rabat, Morocco2–62–6Friendly
115 April 2024Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia2–12–12024 Olympic qualifying

Honours

Chelsea
Apollon Limassol
Tottenham Hotspur
Morocco