Haley Bugeja (born 5 May 2004) 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.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Haley Bugeja[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 2004[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Pietà, Malta | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward[3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Inter Milan | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Mġarr United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Mġarr United | 29 | (52) |
| 2020–2022 | Sassuolo | 30 | (15) |
| 2022–2023 | Orlando Pride | 4 | (0) |
| 2023– | Inter Milan | 5 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019–2021 | Malta U17 | 6 | (0) |
| 2020– | Malta | 22 | (18) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 October 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 27 October 2023 | |||
Club career edit
Mġarr United edit
Bugeja made her senior club debut at the age of 14 for Maltese Women's League club Mġarr United during the 2018–19 season.[4] 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.[5] Bugeja retained her player of the year title the following season although, despite matching her 26 goal total from the previous season, was beaten to the golden boot by Loza Abera of Birkirkara who scored 30.[6][7] Mġarr United finished second to Birkirkara in the league both seasons.
Sassuolo edit
In July 2020, Bugeja signed a thee-year deal with Italian Serie A club Sassuolo.[8] She made her debut for the club on 5 September 2020, at the age of 16, in Sassuolo's 3–1 win against Napoli. Bugeja scored the first and third goal for her team.[9]
Orlando Pride edit
On 1 July 2022, it was announced Bugeja had signed for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) through the end of the 2023 season.[10] After making five appearances for the Pride across all competitions, the club transferred her on 3 July 2023 for an undisclosed fee to Italian Serie A club Inter Milan.[11]
International career edit
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.[12] She scored her first goal in a 2–1 home friendly defeat by Turkey in January 2020.[13] A first competitive goal arrived in March 2020, in a 2–1 home UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B win over Georgia.[14] In November 2020 Bugeja scored a hat-trick in Malta's 4–0 win over the same opponents away from home.[15]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of 21 October 2023.
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mġarr United | 2018–19[16] | Maltese Women's League | 19 | 26 | — | — | 19 | 26 | ||||
| 2019–20[16] | 10 | 26 | — | — | 10 | 26 | ||||||
| Total | 29 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 52 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2020–21 | Serie A | 18 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 12 | ||
| 2021–22 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 15 | 3 | |||
| Total | 30 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 15 | ||
| Orlando Pride | 2022 | NWSL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2023–24 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 68 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 67 | ||
International edit
- Statistics accurate as of match played 27 October 2023.
| Year | Malta | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 7 | 6 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 |
| 2023 | 6 | 8 |
| Total | 21 | 15 |
International goals edit
- As of match played 27 October 2023. Malta score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bugeja goal.
| No. | Date | Cap | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 January 2020[13] | 4 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Turkey | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2 | 5 March 2020[17] | 5 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Georgia | 2–0 | 2–1 | Euro 2022 qualifying |
| 3 | 26 November 2020[18] | 8 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia | Georgia | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 4 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 5 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 6 | 1 December 2020[19] | 9 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel |  Israel | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 7 | 16 February 2022[20] | 12 | Hibernians Stadium, Paola, Malta |  Moldova | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2022 Malta International Tournament |
| 8 | 17 February 2023[21] | 16 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Luxembourg | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 9 | 2–1 | ||||||
| 10 | 7 April 2023[22] | 18 | Sportland Arena, Tallinn, Estonia |  Estonia | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| 11 | 22 September 2023[23] | 19 | Sloka Stadium, Jūrmala, Latvia |  Latvia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C |
| 12 | 26 September 2023[24] | 20 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | Moldova | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 13 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 14 | 27 October 2023[25] | 21 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta |  Andorra | 1–0 | 5–0 | |
| 15 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 16 | 31 October 2023 | Estadi Nacional | Andorra | 1–0 | 1-0 | ||
| 17 | 2–0 | ||||||
| 18 | 3–0 |
Honours edit
- Malta FA Women's League Player of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20
- Maltese Women's League top goalscorer: 2018–19[26]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Haley Bugeja" (in Italian). Italian Football Federation. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Haley Bugeja at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Haley Bugeja – UEFA competition record (archive)
- ^ "February 2019 BOV Female Player of the Month - Haley Bugeja (Mgarr United)". BOV Group.
- ^ "Agius named MFA Player of the Year". Times of Malta. 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Winners of the 2019-2020 individual awards". Malta Football Association.
- ^ "BOV Women's League | Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association.
- ^ "Haley Bugeja sees Sassuolo move as a big step after sealing three-year deal". Times of Malta. 28 July 2020.
- ^ "The Maltese prodigy making waves in Italy". FIFA. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "Orlando Pride Signs Top Young Forward Haley Bugeja" (Press release). Orlando City SC. 1 July 2022.
- ^ Rollins, Sean (1 July 2023). "Orlando Pride Transfer Forward Haley Bugeja to Inter Milan". The Mane Land. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Malta girls lose to Romania despite spirited display". Malta Football Association. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Malta women lose narrowly to Turkey in friendly". Times of Malta. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ Lia, Gianluca (5 March 2020). "Superb display earns Malta women win over Georgia". Times of Malta. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ "UEFA names football starlet Haley Bugeja as one to watch in 2021". Times of Malta. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Haley Bugeja BOV Women's League profile | Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association.
- ^ "Malta-Georgia | UEFA Women's EURO 2022". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Georgia-Malta | UEFA Women's EURO 2022". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Israel-Malta | UEFA Women's EURO 2022". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Winning start for Malta in VisitMalta Women's Trophy". mfa.com.mt.
- ^ "Bugeja brace hands Tesse winning debut as Malta women national team coach". Times of Malta. 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Mängud". jalgpall.ee (in Estonian).
- ^ "Latvia-Malta | UEFA Women's Nations League 2025". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Malta-Moldova | UEFA Women's Nations League 2025". UEFA.com.
- ^ "Malta-Andorra | UEFA Women's Nations League 2025". UEFA.com.
- ^ "BOV Women's League 2018–19 top scorers | Malta Football Association". Malta Football Association.
  | This biographical article related to women's association football in Malta is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |