The 19-year-old striker will join the professional side from German club Borussia Dortmund.
SINGAPORE: Danelle Tan, the first female Singaporean footballer to play in a European league, has joined Australia’s Brisbane Roar, the A-League Women club announced on Thursday (Aug 8).
The 19-year-old striker will wear the No 9 jersey at the club and will link up with its squad next month ahead of the 2024-25 season of the A-League Women, which kicks off on Nov 1.
The Roar finished ninth out of 12 clubs in the top-tier league last season.
Tan previously played for Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, making 27 appearances and scoring 16 goals in her one season there.
She announced in an Instagram post on Jul 22 that she had left the club, saying that she had “received several offers from professional clubs” and “decided a move would be best for (her) development”. Dortmund’s women’s team is not a professional side.
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In an interview published on the Roar’s website, Tan said: “I’m really excited about joining Brisbane Roar. The club presented a professional opportunity and environment that I felt would be best for my development.
“I’m just looking to hit the ground running and settle in as quickly as possible. I want to learn and grow as much as I can as a player training in an elite environment with a very high level of players.”
In a video interview posted by the club, Tan said that she decided to join the Roar because it is “a very ambitious club” and that moving there “felt like the right next step in (her) career”.
It would give her the opportunity to play with “very high calibre players” in a “very good” league, she said.
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When asked what her ambitions were for the season ahead, Tan said: “For me, it’s really to soak in as much, be a sponge, learn as much as I can, develop as much as I can as a player. And I think I’ll be in a perfect environment for that.”
The Roar are two-time A-League Women champions, however, their last title came more than a decade ago. Tan said that she hopes to play a part as the club seeks a return to its glory days.
Tan’s father, Tan Meng Wei, told CNA on Thursday that their family is “really excited about the move”.
He said that he and Danelle had just met up with the Roar’s head coach, Alex Smith, and that the plans he has laid out for her are “clear, ambitious and exciting”.
“Danelle is far from the finished product,” said the 51-year-old, who is the chief executive officer of a childcare group.
“This move is another step in the right direction in getting her to be a stronger and better player.”
He added that Danelle “can’t wait to get started” in Brisbane.
Danelle joined Dortmund in July 2023, becoming the club’s first female signing from Asia.
Prior to that, she played for Singapore’s Lion City Sailors and English side the London Bees.
She is Singapore’s youngest international goalscorer, having netted in her Lionesses debut as a 14-year-old at the 2019 ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Championship. The feat also made her the fifth-younger scorer in a senior women’s international match.
