SINGAPORE – Recognising her development potential in Japan, Lioness Danelle Tan signed a one-year extension with Tokyo Verdy Beleza on July 13.
She told The Straits Times: “I really enjoyed my time at Beleza last season, so continuing felt natural. It’s an environment that has consistently produced world-class players and I know I can still grow a lot here.”
In her first season with the club, who finished third in the 12-team WE League, she registered 14 appearances and two goals across all competitions. She also made her AFC Women’s Champions League debut, scoring once in three games as Beleza reached the final where they lost 1-0 to North Korea’s Naegohyang.
There was also the experience of playing alongside and against high-level Japanese players. These include her former teammate Yuzuki Yamamoto, who was part of Japan’s victorious 2026 Women’s Asian Cup campaign and has since joined American side Denver Summit.
Despite being only 21, Tan is already a well-travelled footballer who has had stints in Singapore (Still Aerion and Lion City Sailors), England (London Bees), Germany (Borussia Dortmund) and Australia (Brisbane Roar), before moving to Japan in 2025.
On what she learnt at Beleza, she said: “Every season is the constant improvement of me as a player. The small things add up – correcting or fine-tuning movements – and at the higher levels, the margins get thinner. So, it becomes about making your strengths sharper and your weaknesses harder to exploit.”
As Beleza kick off their new campaign with a league match against JEF United Chiba on Aug 23, Tan is already aiming to help the 2024-25 champions return to the top.
She said: “With Beleza, the goal is always to win… we will aim for the league title and the two cups.”
After spending a few weeks with her family in Singapore during the off-season when she also caught World Cup broadcasts, it is time for her to strut her stuff at the July 10-22 AFF Women’s Cup.
The second-tier Asean Football Federation (AFF) women’s tournament comprises the six lower-ranked teams from the region who will fight for three places at the 2027 Asean Women’s Championship.
Tan marked her contract extension by scoring a 47th-minute equaliser in Singapore’s 1-1 draw against Group A rivals Laos at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium on July 13.
As Malaysia had also drawn 1-1 with Laos on July 10, the Lionesses will need at least a higher-scoring draw against the hosts, when they meet at the same venue on July 16, to finish in the top two and qualify for the July 19 semi-finals.
Both the final and third-place play-off will be held on July 22.
In the 2024 AFF Women’s Cup, Singapore drew 1-1 with Timor-Leste and beat Laos 1-0 in the group stage to make the semi-finals where they lost 3-0 to Indonesia.
They then beat Timor-Leste 1-0 to finish third and qualify for the 2025 Asean Women’s Championship but the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) withdrew the team’s participation due to “fixture overlap and player welfare considerations”.
Tan, who declared the team’s target of reaching the final, said: “We aren’t afraid of facing any of the teams.
“We haven’t played Malaysia in a while (their last match was a 0-0 draw in 2022) so I’m sure it will be an exciting match in their home. Every game is a fresh start and we must not be complacent. We will face each opponent as if it’s a final and put our best foot forward.”
Tan, who has 29 caps and 11 international goals, is one of seven overseas-based players in Lionesses coach Mihoko Ishida’s 23-player squad. While the Japanese acknowledged it is a challenge to secure all the players for centralised training, she felt “it is great for them to be playing abroad”.
Her team have an average age of 21 and include uncapped duo – 18-year-old midfielder Mulan Ayliffe, who played for Serbian clubs Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade, and 17-year-old forward Naureen Qadriyah, who was Geylang International’s top scorer in the Women’s Premier League with 11 goals in 13 games.
Ishida, a former Arsenal player, added: “Danelle brings experience from playing for one of the best teams in a strong Japanese league and her performance, mentality and character are among the best in the team.
“We welcome more to play overseas because these experiences are definitely valuable as they will play at a high level with different styles of football, which will add value to Singapore women’s football.”
Since her appointment in April, her first two games in charge ended in a 2-0 win over Indonesia, with goals from Nicole Lim and Tan, and a 5-0 defeat by Cambodia in June.
Ishida added: “The loss came in our second match with just two days’ rest. I’ve noted the team’s strengths and weaknesses, and I’m confident about reaching the final because I see the players’ potential.
“We also want to set a higher target than before because football is about making improvement.”
