AFC Ann Arbor are excited to announce the latest signing ahead of the 2022 campaign, Shakira O’Malley. The rising junior completed her sophomore season at University of Northwestern Ohio and hails from South Africa, the same country as new head coach Boyzzz Khumalo.
O’Malley is coming off an excellent sophomore campaign, where she earned First Team All-WHAC honors after a selection to the All-Newcomer Team as a freshman. As a sophomore, she appeared in 20 of the 21 matches for a Racers side that earned a bid to the NAIA Tournament and an appearance in the WHAC Championship Final.
Over her career, O’Malley has been a regular and consistent force in the defense as an underclassman. She has logged a goal, but she excels as a defensive player, which she takes pride in. On her skills, O’Malley would say, “I am a very defensive player who enjoys playing out the back. I am hardworking, confident, and I excel in 1v1 defending.”
She also would highlight her on-pitch leading capability, saying, “I am very vocal, offering leadership out of the backline as a center back.” It is, perhaps unsurprising, who she styles her game after, as she would say, “One of the players I model myself off is Virgil Van Djik because I enjoy watching him play, he is very composed and plays very simple yet he is effective.” Confident and composed is exactly what AFCAA fans can hope from for a defender.
O’Malley’s journey to the United States has been an adventure, as universities in the U.S. quickly took notice of her skills and several, including UNOH, offered her scholarships to help make her dream of taking her game to the next level a reality. O’Malley is an excellent student that plans on studying law, and her continued development as a player has made her a staple in the back line for a strong collegiate side.
On the summer to come, O’Malley said, “I am looking forward to the experience to be able to play with girls from different schools, and to be able to get a feel of what the summer league is like.” O’Malley revealed that she picked AFCAA because she believes that it allow her to develop as a player while stepping out of her comfort zone.
As for expectations, O’Malley would say, “My hopes for the summer season are to gain experience and to learn and excel and offer my leadership abilities to the team.” A player that is always looking to get better and improve upon her skills, O’Malley is a stable and secure presence in the back line and a new, very welcome, member of The Mighty Oak.
O’Malley shares a nationality with new AFC Ann Arbor Women’s Head Coach Boyzzz Khumalo. Khumalo emphasized the fact that he is excited to help every player that is brought in, regardless of their continent of origin. However, Khumalo knows that he may be able to leverage his lived experiences into teaching moments. “I know I can relate to some of the players simply because I’m African, and I think I can help them not just in the beautiful game but as people,” he would say.
He continued, “Like I always say, the beautiful game brings us together. We’re coming together for a reason. At the end of the day, it’s about us enjoying the summer and learning from one another.”
We, again, welcome Shakira to the AFCAA Family and we look forward to welcoming her to Ann Arbor this summer.
About AFC Ann Arbor
Association Football Club Ann Arbor (AFC Ann Arbor) was founded in 2014, and competes in USL2 (men’s) and USLW (women’s) national amateur leagues. We are a community-based club, focused on equity, justice, and anti-racism. We consider all of our stakeholders, including supporters, players, staff, and ownership to be part of the #AFCAAFamily. Come On You Mighty Oak!