Dana Nadda

Dana Nadda
Personal information
Full name Dana Karim Samir Nadda
Date of birth (2004-11-14) 14 November 2004
Place of birth Cairo, Egypt
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Position Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Southern Illinois Salukis
Number 10
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2023–2024 Fairfield Stags 38 (2)
2025 Southern Illinois Salukis 19 (6)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Wadi Degla
International career‡
2020–2024 Egypt U20 8 (5)
2021– Egypt 10 (3)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals as of 2 March 2026

Dana Karim Samir Nadda (Arabic: دانا كريم سمير ندا; born 14 November 2004) is an Egyptian college footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Southern Illinois Salukis and the Egypt women's national football team.[1]

College career

Prior to joining the Fairfield Stags, Nadda spent three years at IMG Academy in the United States, where she played for the academy's football programme while completing her secondary education. During her time there, she developed as a midfielder and gained experience in competitive youth football.[2]

Following her graduation from IMG Academy, Nadda received a full scholarship from Fairfield University to join its NCAA Division I women's soccer programme. She subsequently joined the Fairfield Stags on a four-year collegiate programme beginning with the 2023 season.[2]

Nadda joined the Fairfield Stags in 2023 and started three of her 17 appearances during her freshman season, playing a total of 529 minutes. She scored her first collegiate goal from a free kick against Fordham on 3 September and recorded 13 shots overall, including two attempts in three separate matches. Her longest outing of the season came against Rider on 23 September, where she played 61 minutes and registered two shots, one of them on target. Following her goal against Fordham, Nadda was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week, becoming the second Stag that season to receive a conference weekly award and the first to earn rookie honours.[3]

During the 2024 season, she made 21 appearances, scoring one goal and registering a career-high five assists. She contributed to goals in three consecutive matches, beginning with a goal against Fordham on 1 September, followed by assists against Rider on 7 September and Iona on 14 September. All five assists came in MAAC play, with additional assists recorded against Niagara on 21 September, Manhattan on 5 October, and Marist on 23 October, helping the team win the 2024 MAAC women's soccer tournament.[4]

Club career

Nadda began her football journey at the Barcelona Academy in Cairo, Egypt, where she was the only girl training among boys, starting at the age of five. She later joined a private academy before moving to Wadi Degla, one of Egypt's top women's football clubs. At Degla, she competed in the Egyptian Women's Premier League, training and playing alongside the first team in competitive matches.[5]

While at Degla, Nadda attracted international attention through her performances, which were recorded by her father and shared with foreign clubs. This led to a two-week trial with Chelsea in England, where her technical abilities and fitness impressed the coaching staff.[5]

International career

A native of Cairo, Egypt, Nadda holds three nationalities: American, Egyptian, and Lebanese.[6]

Nadda began representing Egypt at the under-20 level following the re-establishment of the national team in 2019 ahead of the 2020 African U-20 Women's World Cup qualifiers.[7] She made an immediate impact, scoring a rocket goal from a free-kick in a 5–3 defeat to Morocco on 17 January 2020.[8][9] She later took part in the 2022 qualifying campaign, scoring Egypt's consolation goal in a 3–1 loss to Congo. In the 2024 cycle, she again faced Congo and scored in both legs as Egypt secured a 7–1 aggregate victory.[10][11]

In August 2021, Danna received her first call-up to the senior national team for the final squad of the 2021 Arab Women's Cup, which was hosted on home soil and marked Egypt's first international matches in five years. On 27 August 2021, she scored her first international goal in a 4–0 win over Lebanon.[12][13]

International goals

Egypt score listed first, score column indicates score after each Nadda goal.
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 August 2021 Police Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Lebanon 2–0 4–0 2021 Arab Women's Cup
2 20 October 2021 Petro Sport Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Tunisia 2–3 2–6 2022 WAFCON qualification
3 2 March 2026 EFA National Teams Center, Cairo, Egypt  Algeria 2–1 2–3 Friendly

References

  1. ^ Borkowski, Peter (24 February 2026). "Soccer's Nadda Called Up By Egyptian National Team". Carbondale, Il: Southern Illinois Salukis. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Fairfield presents Egyptian player Dana Nadda as a new member of the team". kooora.com (in Arabic). 29 April 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Nadda Named MAAC Rookie of the Week". Edison, NJ: Fairfield Stags. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  4. ^ Shaban, Hatem (14 November 2024). "The Egyptian Dana Karim Nadda leads American Fairfield to win the league title for the ninth time in its history". koraplus.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Dana Karim… Egyptian Footballer Following in Mohamed Salah's Footsteps in the Professional World". copts-united.com. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  6. ^ Awwad, Hind (7 August 2023). "Not Salah Alone… The Story of 9 Egyptian Female Professionals in Europe and the Arab World". masrawy.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  7. ^ Hatem Reda; Mohamed Morad (2 February 2026). "The women's national team faces Morocco in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations". youm7.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Eliminatoires du Mondial U-20 ans: la sélection marocaine féminine bat son homologue égyptienne (5-3)" (in French). SNRT. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Video and Photos: The Women's National Team Loses 3–5 to Morocco in the African Qualifiers". youm7.com (in Arabic). 17 January 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  10. ^ "3 foreign-based players named in Egypt women's national team squad for the World Cup qualifier against Congo". elbashayer.com (in Arabic). 2 November 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2026. Dana Karim Nadda player of the American Fairfield
  11. ^ Ahmed, Mohamed (19 November 2023). "Egypt Women's National Team Thrashes Congo 6–0 in World Cup Qualifiers". elsalam-int.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Egypt Defeat Lebanon to Temporarily Top Their Group in the Arab Women's Cup". al-wassit.com. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  13. ^ Shaban, Hatem (9 October 2025). "Dana Karim Nadda Apologizes for Not Joining Egypt's Squad for the Two Matches Against Ghana – "Exclusive"". koraplus.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 11 March 2026.
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