Winette Lim Siu (Tiong Bahru FC), 23, Defender

Like many girls in Singapore who went to schools without girls' football teams, Winette Lim's official football journey only started 5 years ago when she was a successful candidate of the Direct School Admissions (DSA) program for Victoria Junior College (VJC), a dominant force in the Singapore National Schools A' Division Football Girls' Championship having won the title 7 straight times since 2013.

Winette Lim grew up playing a lot of void deck football with her brother, and she credits her brother for pushing her to join the VJC DSA trials, sparking her footballing journey.

While Winette Lim now plays in the full-back position, she used to play winger and enjoys bringing the ball down the flank before sending crosses into the box for her teammates. In preparations for this tournament, she has had to pick up the new position through watching recorded training matches every week and observing her teammates who play in the same position.

Her goal for this tournament? To stay fully focused on the process whenever she is on the field, and enjoy the experience.

Khairunnisa Binte Khairol Anwar (South Avenue SC), Defender

Starting out by playing under her block with her brothers, Khairunnisa Anwar proceeded to pick up football as a CCA when she was 9 years old and has never looked back. She brings to the team a style of play similar to a tactical predator, strategically slowing her opponents down and waits for just the right moment to tackle them aggressively. That's what we call a Lioness!

Apart from football, Khairunnisa Anwar has to juggle school, part time work and her family. Some days, she has to sacrifice time for training, but she perseveres in order to increase her level of play.

She hopes that from this tournament and all the intense preparations leading up to it can push the team to become contenders in the region.

Nurhidayu Binte Naszri (Bussorah Youth Sports Club), Defender

Taking it upon herself to fulfil her father's dream of seeing his children play football, Nurhidayu Naszri picked up the sport back in 2013. As time went by, she fell in love with the sport and that passion drove her to improve herself to get where she is today – A Proud Lioness.

Nurhidayu Naszri not only has a great understanding of the game, she is a versatile player that performs in any position. Originally a midfielder, Nurhidayu Naszri has picked up the mantle of forming the strong backline of the Lionesses. The switch from midfielder to defender was challenging, but there was no doubt that she would excel.

Her goal for this tournament is for the team to bring their best game out and make Singapore proud.

Tan Hui Ying Lila (Lion City Sailors), Midfielder

Inspired by her brothers, Lila Tan started training with them and eventually joined her school's club in Primary 5. With an attacking mindset, she loves to have the ball at her feet and is also on the constant lookout to create chances for the team.

Fun fact, Lila Tan also has a passion for modelling and is instafamous with more than 13,000 followers on her Instagram (@lilaatan). Like many of our Lionesses, Lila Tan faces the challenge of juggling both football and her passions, and has had to learn the art of time management in order to achieve her football goals.

She is very excited to make her debut for the national team in this tournament and hopes to make her country, family, friends and herself proud. At the end of the day, she will play to the best of her abilities, have fun and be happy.

Sara Merican (Lion City Sailors), Midfielder

At the young age of 3, you would have found Sara Merican playing a scrappy game of football with her cousins in her grandmother's garden. With carefree spirits, they made up the rules as they went along and it sparked the beginning of Sara Merican's football journey. She went on to join a few YMCA football games, only to realise that she and her sister were the only girls there. Eventually, she joined her first proper girls' team in Victoria Junior College (VJC).

As a national team player, Sara Merican strives to be adaptable in order to play effectively. She picks up the rhythm and flow of the game and does well to gel in with the team. If the team plays a passing game, you can be sure to see her linking up the passes. Likewise, if the team is playing a more direct game, she will be there to send the long balls and take more shots.

A challenge she faces is finding balance in the sport. She asks herself the hard questions like, "How do I play with passion but also calmness?", "How do I let the pressure push me but also not define me?" and "How do I place high expectations on the game, but also be kind to myself and accept my mistakes?". At the end of the day, she understands that she is only human and that humans play their best games when there is joy and freedom in their hearts.

Sara Merican's main goal for this tournament is to reach new milestones as a team to inspire younger girls to continue pushing boundaries at competitions and hopefully get more support to chase their goals.

Nicole Lim Yan Xiu (-), 19, Forward

With the opportunity presenting itself to Nicole Lim in 2019, she began her football journey by joining the football team at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). Her team at HCI had emerged 2nd runners-up in the Singapore National Schools A' Division Football Girls' Championship 2019 after losing out to the reigning Champions VJC at the semi-finals.

In the short span of 2 years, Nicole Lim has advanced to playing at the highest level in Singapore. Much like the pace of her football progress, Nicole Lim is also known for her fast paced and quick finishing style of play.

Similar to many other lionesses, she has to balance her school and training but her passion is always there to drive her forward. Her goal for this tournament? To score a goal for Singapore. All the best to this young Lioness!

Nur Umairah Binte Mohd Hamdan (Lion City Sailors), 19, Defender

Officially starting her football journey in primary school, Umairah Hamdan now has 10 caps with the Singapore Lionesses. As a strong defensive player, she is a player to look out for and contributes to the strong backline of the team.

If there is anything this Lioness portrays, it would be her ability to bounce back from hardship. Prior to training for the tournament, Umairah Hamdan had suffered a head injury and struggled to regain confidence to train as per usual. However, she was determined not to let that hold her back and has since come back stronger than ever.

For this tournament, when she steps onto the field, Umairah Hamdan aims to fight hard to make a difference.

Nur Syazwani Binte Mohamad Ruzi (Lion City Sailors), 19, Defender

Realising her interest in football at the age of 5, Syazwani Ruzi joined Admiralty CSC, a football academy. With now 7 appearances for the Singapore National Team, apart from her passion for the game, she finds joy in playing with a team and is known to be a team player.

One thing Syazwani Ruzi has worked on leading up to the tournament is becoming more aggressive during 1v1s. Now she is tougher, stronger and goes the extra mile to win the ball in every challenge.

No doubt you will see her giving her 110% at each match and training session during the tournament.

Dhaniyah Qasimah Binte Zamri Abdullah (GDT Circuit FC), 17, Defender

10 years ago, Dhaniyah Qasimah could not decide on which CCA to join so her Dad told her to join her brother's football team so that she would have someone to look out for her. The rest became history as that started her on the path of playing football. This Lioness with 6 caps to her name, gives her all on the field and is known as a menace to her opponents with her aggression.

Unfortunately due to COVID, the team could only have trainings on zoom so coming back to field training proved to be a struggle for Dhaniyah Qasimah. However, she was determined not to let that stop her as she worked her hardest during trainings and has been able to push herself to even higher playing levels.

Her goal for this tournament is for the team to play their best!

Dorcas Chu (Lion City Sailors), 19, Midfielder

After failing to find interest in Ballet, Chinese Dance and Badminton as CCAs in primary school, Dorcas Chu played a hunch and decided to try for football. Turns out, she was pretty good at it and was the only junior (Primary 3-4) selected to compete with the seniors (Primary 5-6) in their tournament. She was only 9 years old at the time and realised the potential she had in the sport, so she kept going and is now a young budding talent on the national team with 5 previous appearances for the Lionesses.

It's easy to spot Dorcas Chu on the field as she is the workhorse of the team. She cannot resist the urge to run into space no matter how far it is and is always hungry and desperate to win the ball. She puts her heart and soul in the sport and will always fight for the team.

Like many driven individuals, Dorcas Chu finds herself sometimes struggling with anxiety and self-doubt. For her, she overcomes this by not letting her mistakes define her but instead learning from them. It was not easy shifting to this mindset, but if anything she learned that if we lose the mental battle, we will undoubtedly lose the battle on the field. For this tournament, Dorcas Chu aims to live in the present and concentrate on every moment, so that she can play with no regrets by giving everything she has on the field.

Lim Ying Xuan Venetia (Lion City Sailors), 17, Midfielder

Through the influence of her three brothers and her father, Venetia Lim started her football journey at the tender age of 4, playing at JSSL Football Club (JSSL FC), Singapore’s Premier Youth Football Club & League Provider. One of the youngest player on the 23-player roster, Venetia Lim currently has 2 caps to her name.

Venetia Lim likes to keep things simple in her play. Whenever the right opportunity arises, she makes sure to seize and exploit it. Her playing mantra is to constantly maintain possession and find the chances to make the killer passes.

It has been a challenging period for Venetia Lim as she has had to overcome multiple injuries on top of her chronic knee pain, preventing her from training during the critical weeks leading up to the competition. While the recovery had been slower than she had hoped, Venetia Lim has gotten match-ready with the support from her mother, coaches, teammates and doctors, all of whom she can't thank enough for their patience.

Her aspirations for this tournament? To contribute effectively to the team, and develop both as a footballer and as an individual. She also hopes that this tournament will help to strengthen the bond amongst her teammates.

Danelle Tan Li Ern (Lion City Sailors), 16, Forward

The youngest player on the team and a clinical striker to look out for, Danelle Tan has made 3 appearances for the Singapore National Team and currently holds the record as the youngest ever player to score for Singapore at the senior international level, and 5th youngest goal-scorer in the world according to statistics and records maintained on crowdsourced webpage RSSSF.com.

Danelle Tan had asked to join her brothers at soccer academy JSSL when she was 6 years old as she felt left out at home. On her first trial class, she scored 12 goals – a prodigious start to her journey as a goal scoring machine.

There is no doubt that she will put the ball at the back of the net when she's in front of goal, and apart from that, she gets satisfaction from creating chances for her teammates as well. Leading up to the tournament, Danelle was battling a knee injury but was very determined to bounce back from it. Taking control of her recovery, she mapped out a detailed schedule to make sure that she was as ready and fit as possible for the tournament.

She believes in the team and hopes that they can make history by progressing from the qualifiers to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022.

Noor Kusumawati Binte Mohammad Rosman (Police Sports Association), 30, Goalkeeper

The second highest capped player on the roster with 34 caps, Noor Kusumawati started playing football while studying at Singapore's Institute of Technical Education in 2010. Just one year into her footballing journey, she joined the National Team.

When asked to describe her style of play, Noor Kusumawati joked, "I think I play like a beast". She also admitted that she loved shouting at her teammates, an obvious hint at why she is the person of choice to command the play from her penalty box.

Similar to her teammates, Noor Kusumawati has had to overcome the challenges of managing time with her family, work and football, by meticulously planning her schedule ahead of time and prioritising commitments accordingly.

Her goal for this AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers is to win all the matches and give her all at the tournament.

Tan Li Bin Beatrice (Lion City Sailors), 29, Goalkeeper

It was during the O'level national examination period that Beatrice Tan was first introduced to football through playing street soccer with a few of her male friends during study breaks. She was immediately drawn to the sport and once she entered St. Andrew's Junior College (SAJC) in 2010, she joined the girls' football team. Interestingly, that was the same year when fellow Lioness Suria Priya, missing from the roster due to travel challenges, was captain at SAJC. Her team at SAJC took home the Bronze and Silver in the Singapore National Schools A' Division Football Girls' Championship 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Having made 4 prior appearances on the Singapore National Team, Beatrice Tan is known for being proactive in her play, involving herself in the build-up starting from the goalkeeper's penalty box.

While she acknowledges the lack of game time against opponents through the COVID-19 period, she hopes that the team wins their matches and uses this AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers as an opportunity to learn and grow together. Above that, she hopes for this tournament to serve as a platform to further raise the awareness of women's football in Singapore.

Kong Zi En Pamela (Still Aerion Women's FC), 30, Goalkeeper

Having always enjoyed watching football on TV, Pamela Kong never thought about becoming a footballer till she came across the girls' football CCA in St. Andrew's Junior College (SAJC) in 2008. There, she started her footballing journey as a goalkeeper.

The best strategy to keep a clean sheet is to prevent any attempts on goals in the first place, and that is what Pamela Kong strives for - Giving commands from the back and organising the team to make it as difficult as possible for shots to be taken.

Leading up to the tournament, it was tough getting any keeper training done, and hence Pamela Kong devised a solo practice where she kicked the ball against a wall and caught the rebounds. She had missed 2 seasons of competitive games and have had to quickly readjust and recover from minor injuries.

Her aspirations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers? As a team, to achieve a win and qualify. Having only had 1 cap thus far, individually, she looks forward to getting some game time during the tournament.

Ernie Sulastri Binte Sontaril (Lion City Sailors), 32, Defender

With 40 appearances for the Singapore National Team, Ernie Sulastri is Singapore's highest capped female footballer. Since her debut in 2010, she has maintained as one of the fittest in the squad, guided by her strong sense of discipline, a trait that she picked up during her overseas training stint in Japan. Together with her fitness, it is her mental strength that allows her to be composed and stable in her play. At 32, Ernie Sulastri is the stronghold of the team on the pitch.

As the team captain, and also one of the most senior players on the team, Ernie Sulastri has taken up the additional responsibility of looking out for the younger players. Passing on her experience and knowledge to the next generation is a strong driving force that keeps her going.

On top of aspiring to qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022, she is also looking a step further to participate in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next year.

Fatin Aqillah Binte Mohamed Ridzuan (Tanjong Pagar United FC), 27, Defender

Growing up hearing about how good a footballer her father was, Fatin Aqillah decided to start playing football at the void decks with her brother and cousins. It was until her junior college days that her passion for football grew stronger and she knew that she wanted to achieve more out of the sport. Since then, she has made 2 caps on the Singapore National Team.

As a footballer, Fatin Aqillah likes to play simple - Keeping possession, pass, and move in space.

Her tougher challenges so far has been to bounce back from injuries, building up her confidence and skills up again from scratch. As she understands that it is never a smooth sailing recovery journey, she psyches herself to stay positive and keep going.

Fatin Aqillah's personal aspirations for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers is to gain loads of experience, whether it is good, bad or ugly. She believes that hardships are the key to growth. In addition to that, she wants the team to continue building on their chemistry and take this tournament as a stepping stone to push their limits to see how far they can achieve.

Ho Hui Xin (Lion City Sailors), 29, Midfielder

After fellow Lionesses Ernie Sulastri and Noor Kusumawati, Ho Hui Xin is the 3rd most capped player on the 23-player roster with 27 caps. Her first experiences with football were mostly recreational games played during recess in primary and secondary school, and it was till junior college where she started proper training. In her two years at Victoria Junior College (VJC), her team had successfully retained the crown at the Singapore National Schools A' Division Football Girls' Championship.

Ho Hui Xin likes to play the passing game, keeping possession while finding opportunities to move the ball forward.

When faced with the challenge of lacking international and competitive matches during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ho Hui Xin overcame that by training with the sole purpose in mind - To do well in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers.

She wants the team to do their best and try their hardest to qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022.

Lim Li Xian (Police Sports Association), 24, Midfielder

Sharing the 3rd most capped player with fellow Lioness Ho Hui Xin at 27 caps, Lim Li Xian found herself the only girl at trainings when she first started playing football at 7 when she joined her brothers at the Home United Academy. Subsequently, she moved to the United States when her mother relocated there for work and she got the opportunity to play for a youth club in the US. There, she experienced a very different football training from Singapore, and her skills improved.

In midfield, Lim Li Xian enjoys running for the ball and crossing it into the box for her teammates to score. She also prides herself on keeping level-headed on the field, an important asset when tensions rise during matches. In her previous 27 appearances for the Singapore National Team, she has scored 2 goals.

Having a full-time job has made it extremely challenging for Lim Li Xian, especially having to train 4 out of 5 weekday evenings on top of the hours that she has spent at work. She recognises that it can be mentally draining and hence tries her best to keep football and work separate once training starts.

Her personal goal for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers is to create some plays that allows her team to have attacking chances.

Nur Farhanah Binte Ruhaizat (Tanjong Pagar United FC), 23, Midfielder

It was Farhanah Ruhaizat's father, a former goalkeeper for Bukit Gombak United FC, who introduced her to football when she was 12 years old. Together with her sister, she trained under Coach Sajid and Coach Siva. She has since gone on to make 16 appearances for the Singapore National Team.

Farhanah Ruhaizat is known for putting on an attacking mindset and play a simple ball game whenever she steps on the field. Preferring build-up plays, she usually analyses what her team can do to attack the opposing team.

Like her fellow Lionesses, Farhanah Ruhaizat has found it challenging to keep up match fitness during the COVID-19 period due to the limited access to 11-a-side matches. On top of that, she has had to balance trainings with school, part-time work while squeezing in time for rest. With all that in mind, it is a challenge to maintain a positive mindset on and off the field, but she knows how important to put aside personal struggles and manage emotions during training and matches in order to succeed.

After all their hard work and training, she hopes the team can perform at their best at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 Qualifiers and learn from the process and journey.

Nur Izzati Binte Rosni (Lion City Sailors), 22, Midfielder

Following in the footsteps of her Father, Izzati Rosni joined his club in the JSSL National Youth League and was the only girl there. She credits her Dad as being a pivotal part in her football journey and has grown up loving the game and the beauty of it. At the age of 10, she was called up to train with the U-16 National team, and was the youngest player in the team then. It was daunting at first, but that only pushed her to greater heights and has since then been in the national team set up making 11 appearances and scoring 1 goal at the senior National team level thus far.

With a natural attacking instinct and a smart playing style to match, she helps control the midfield. Izzati Rosni is always keeping an eye out to pounce on any loose balls and is disciplined in her positioning which allows her to track and block counter attacks.

Leading up to the AFC Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers, her Mum passed away from cancer and she found herself struggling to find the motivation to play football. Thankfully, with the support from her family and friends she was able to muster the motivation and drive she needed and regained a sense of purpose to keep going in football – Truly showing us the strength of a Lioness. She strongly believes that her Mum is supporting her on from above and aims to make her proud.

Her aspiration going into this tournament is for everyone to grow as players and show that they will fight for each other. There is no doubt that the team has put in a lot of great effort over the last few months and this is an excellent platform for them to showcase their talent at an international level.

Nur Raudhah Binte Kamis (Tiong Bahru FC), 22, Forward

Starting at the young age of 3, Raudhah Kamis has found her inspiration through her father and has a huge passion for the sport. Described as an attacking player, Raudhah has been an integral forward of the team, having scored 5 senior goals in her 19 appearances with the Singapore National Team.

It was not easy for her to balance her work with football trainings and going through the same routine everyday found itself to be too monotonous. However, she managed to learn how to manage her time and find joy in the little things in life. At the end of the day, she reminds herself that even during uncertain times, she is lucky to be able to do what she loves despite the restrictions.

Stephanie Gigette A Dominguez (Still Aerion Women's FC), 22, Forward

Stephanie Gigette's footballing journey began in 2015 when she joined ITE's football CCA. Since then she has had 13 appearances and 2 goals for the national team. With an attacking mindset and the discipline to keep control of the ball, Stephanie is an unstoppable force in the attacking line.

Similar to her teammates, she has to juggle school and training while getting enough rest. With term break, she has been focusing on resting and channeling her time and energy to training. Driven and determined, she has her eyes set on qualifying for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022.