Alisha Debora Lehmann (born 21 January 1999) is a Swiss 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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

and the Switzerland national team. She is the most followed woman footballer in the world on Instagram.

Club career

BSC YB Frauen

After beginning her career at age nine with FC Konolfingen, where she played from 2008 to 2011, Lehmann joined the U14 BSC YB team as a 12-year-old. She also trained with the U13 to U15 boys' teams three times a week and played in two matches on the male junior teams. Lehmann started her senior professional career at Swiss club BSC YB at age 17. In her first season, she scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win against FC Staad. She was top scorer for her team that season with nine goals. She went on to score 25 goals in 52 league appearances during her time at the club.

West Ham United

Newly-professional

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

club

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

signed Lehmann from BSC YB Frauen in August 2018. It was reported that West Ham manager Matt Beard had been impressed by Lehmann's performances at the 2018 U-19 European Championship, which Switzerland hosted. Lehmann scored both goals in a 2–1 win over

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on 20 February 2019. In April 2019 West Ham extended Lehmann's contract after she scored nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions and helped the club reach the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

final by scoring the equalising goal in the semi-final match against Reading on 14 April 2019. On 3 November 2019, Lehmann scored in the 75th minute against Reading for a 1–0 win that helped her team advance to the knockout stage of the 2019–20 Conti Cup. On 19 January 2020, when West Ham was behind 1–0 to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, Lehmann scored two goals in the 80th and 83rd minute to give her team a 2–1 victory. She was shortlisted for the BBC Super League Young Player of the Season award for the 2019–20 season.

Everton (loan)

On 27 January 2021, it was announced that Lehmann had moved to Everton on loan until the end of the season. She earned her first start for the team on 14 February against Reading. She scored her first goal on 11 March against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

Aston Villa

Lehmann then joined

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

for the 2021–22 season. She scored her first two goals for Aston Villa on 2 December 2021 against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In the match against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on 23 January 2023, the score was 1–1 until Lehmann scored a winner in the 93rd minute. She was named Women's Supporters' Player of the Season for 2021–22. In July 2022, she signed a one-year contract extension with Aston Villa for the 2022–23 season, having made 23 appearances and scoring four goals during her first season at the club. On 26 March 2023, she made two goals and an assist in a 5–0 win against Leicester City. In this game she completed 100 percent of her dribbles and earned Player of the Match. At the end of the 2022–23 season, having made 54 appearances for Aston Villa, Lehmann extended her contract until June 2026, with the option of extending for a further year after that date. In the final away game of the 2023–24 season, Lehmann scored in the 1–0 victory against

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

and was awarded Player of the Match.

Juventus

On 6 July 2024, Lehmann joined Italian side

by signing a contract until 2027. She scored her first goal with the club in the opening match of the 2024–25

season against

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

International career

Youth

Lehmann made her debut for the Swiss U-17 national team on 11 April 2015, defeating

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

8–1 during the elite

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

round of the 2015 U-17 European Championship. She scored her first goal five days later, sealing the score with opponents

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

at 4–0 in the 61st minute. In the final tournament, she played in five out of six games. She scored the goal in a 1–0 win against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and helped her team finish first in their group. Switzerland reached the final but lost 5–2 to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Lehmann was called up by Monica Di Fonzo for the 2016 U-17 European Championship qualifiers, where she played all three preliminary phase matches, scoring against both Serbia and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, and all of the next three elite phase matches, where Switzerland was eliminated. Selected by coach Nora Häuptle for the

phases of the 2017 U-19 European Championship, Lehmann made her U19 national team debut on 18 October 2016 against Estonia and scored her first U19 goal in this match. Lehmann then scored a hat-trick in the following match against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and another hat-trick in a 3–3 draw with Czechia. She played in all the remaining matches of the elite phase, but Switzerland did not qualify. At the U-19 European Championship at home in Switzerland in July 2018, Lehmann scored the equalizer in the 80th minute making it 2–2 against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After a 2–0 loss to

, she scored again in a 3–1 win over

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. With a win, a draw, and a loss, the Swiss retired in the preliminary round. Lehmann played in all three games.

Senior

Lehmann won her first

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for the senior Switzerland national team on 22 October 2017 in a friendly against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, coming on as a substitute for Eseosa Aigbogun in the 55th minute. She scored her first international goal on 2 March 2018 against

at the 2018 Cyprus Cup. She played her first official international match on 5 April 2018 in a 1–0 victory over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

to the 2019 World Cup. In May 2019, she sustained an ankle injury during national camp training and underwent surgery. Lehmann was part of the team that qualified for the 2022 UEFA European Championship. She scored a goal in a 2–1 victory against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In the final must-win match for Switzerland, Lehmann helped her team reach the Euros during the penalty shootout against Czechia when she stepped up as the third shooter and successfully made it 1–1. She was eventually not available for the 2022 Euros because she felt she was not "mentally ready" to be involved in the tournament. On 3 July 2023, she was selected for the 2023 World Cup. She played in two out of three group stage matches, coming on as a substitute both times. Switzerland were eliminated by eventual champions

in the Round of 16.

Personal life

She formerly identified as

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. She previously dated Swiss national teammate Ramona Bachmann. Although they were believed to have split in 2022, as of June 2024, Lehmann was in a relationship with Brazilian

midfielder

Douglas Luiz Douglas Luiz Soares de Paulo (born 9 May 1998), known as Douglas Luiz, is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a central midfielder, midfielder for Serie A club Juventus FC, Juventus and the Brazil national foo ...

. On the 2nd of May 2025, the pair split from each other.

In popular culture

In 2019, Lehmann was featured in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

series ''Britain's Youngest Football Boss'' with her then girlfriend Ramona. As of 29 December 2023, she has more than 16 million followers on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, making her the world's most-followed women's footballer. In November 2024, it was announced that she would manage one of the 12 teams in the upcoming Baller League UK, a six-a-side football league. She previously won the inaugural version in Germany with Streets United.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Switzerland goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lehmann goal.''

Honours

West Ham United *

runner-up: 2018–19 Juventus *

2024-25 A coxless four, abbreviated as a 4- and also called a straight four, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four ...

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 2024–25 Switzerland U17 *

UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship The UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, is an annual European championship football tournament, organized by UEFA, for national teams of women under age seventeen. The tournament was first play ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

*
Alisha Lehmann
at Aston Villa W.F.C.
Profile
at

Swiss Football Association The Swiss Football Association (, , , ) is the governing body of football in Switzerland. It organizes the football league, the Swiss Football League and the Switzerland national football team. It is based in Bern. It was formed in 1895, was a ...

Profile
at soccerdonna.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehmann, Alisha 1999 births Living people People from Bern-Mittelland District Swiss women's footballers Footballers from the canton of Bern Women's association football forwards Switzerland women's international footballers Switzerland women's youth international footballers 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's Super League (Switzerland) players Women's Super League players Serie A (women's football) players BSC YB Frauen players West Ham United F.C. Women players Everton F.C. (women) players Aston Villa W.F.C. players Juventus FC (women) players Swiss expatriate women's footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England Bisexual sportswomen Swiss LGBTQ footballers Swiss bisexual people 21st-century Swiss LGBTQ people Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate women's footballers in Italy 21st-century Swiss sportswomen