Laydah Samani

Laydah Anitae Samani (born 18 February 1992) is a Solomon Islands women's footballer and former captain of the national women's team.^[1] She plays for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Royals, winners of the inaugural Solrais Women's Premier League 2020, as well as the Solrais Women's Football Championship in the same year.^[2]

Laydah Samani

Personal information
Full name	Laydah Anitae Samani
Date of birth	(1992-02-18) 18 February 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Malaita, Solomon Islands
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	RSIPF Royals
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–?	Wellington United
	Solomon Warriors
	RSIPF Royals
International career‡
2007–	Solomon Islands	13	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 04:41, 30 August 2018 (UTC)

Early life

Samani is from Malaita.^[3]

Club career

In June 2016 Samani joined Wellington United, becoming the first player from the Solomon Islands to play in New Zealand.^[4][5]

In 2018 Samani was a forward for Solomon Warriors.^[6]

As of 2020, she was playing for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Royals.^[7][2]

International career

Samani made her international debut for the Solomon Islands in the country's first women's international match on 9 April 2007, starting in the 2007 OFC Women's Championship match against Papua New Guinea.^[8] In 2009 she was shortlisted for the OFC Women's Player of the Year Award.^[9]

She captained the Solomon Islands team for the 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup.^[1]

In 2021 she was selected as a women's football ambassador for the Oceania Football Confederation.^[10]

Career statistics

As of 30 August 2018^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Solomon Islands	2007	5	1
	2011	3	3
	2015	2	0
	2018	3	2
Total		13	6

As of 24 August 2018

Scores and results list the Solomon Islands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Samani goal.

List of international goals scored by Laydah Samani

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 August 2007	Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia, Samoa	Cook Islands	1–1	1–1	2007 South Pacific Games
2	2 September 2011	Stade PLGC, Nouméa, New Caledonia	American Samoa	1–0	4–0	2011 Pacific Games
3				2–0
4				3–0
5	24 August 2018	Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji	American Samoa	1–0	2–0	2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup qualification
6				2–0
7	8 July 2019	National Soccer Stadium, Apia, Samoa	Papua New Guinea	2–4	2–5	2019 Pacific Games

References

1. Yogesh Chandra (25 August 2018). "Samani Strikes 2 For Solomons". Fiji Sun. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
2. "Royals crowned champ". Solomon Star. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
3. Savannah Tafau-Levy (29 August 2021). "ALL IN: Laydah Samani (Solomon Islands)". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
4. Jacob Beleski (18 August 2016). "Wellington United football experience a success for Solomon Islander Laydah Samani". Stuff. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
5. "Windy Wellington shaped Samani's journey". Oceania Football Confederation. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
6. "OFC Women's Nations Cup 2018 – Qualifying Stage: Official Team List" (PDF). oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 22 August 2018. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
7. "RSIPF Commissioner congratulates women's football team for winning the inaugural premier league". Solomon Star. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
8. "Papua New Guinea hit Solomons for six". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
9. "Naka in the List for OFC Player of the Year Award". Solomon Times. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
10. "OFC are ALL IN with their first women's football strategy". EMTV. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
11. "OFC Women's Championship: Event Report and Statistics" (PDF). oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 2007. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
12. "Agunam and Banabas reign supreme". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 29 August 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
13. "Cook Islands, Solomon Islands fight out 1–1 draw". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 31 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
14. "Fiji women state medal credentials". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 3 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
15. "American Samoa 0–4 Solomon Islands". oceaniafootball.com. Oceania Football Confederation. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2018.

External links

• Profile at oceaniafootball.com