Clara Luvanga secures Saudi Arabia move

The pacy attacker becomes the second Tanzanian female footballer to play in the lucrative Saudi Arabia women's top tier.

She follows in the footsteps of compatriot Enekia Kasonga who joined another Saudi topflight women’s team, Eastern Flames, last week.

In August, Clara signed her first professional contract in Spain with DUX Logroño.

She joined the Spanish women's second division side from Mainland Tanzania Women’s Premier League side Yanga Princess.

In joining DUX Logroño, she became the first Tanzanian female player to join a Spanish club and it was her first stint abroad.

Barely two months later, DUX Logroño agreed to sell her to moneybag Al Nassr. The Saudi side is the Saudi Women's Premier League defending champion.

Clara came to the limelight during the 2022 African U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament.

She single-handedly helped Tanzania qualify for the U-17 Women's World Cup for the first time in its history.

She emerged as the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers top goal scorer with 10 goals.

The attacker scored five goals against Botswana (7-0) in the second round and a double against Burundi (4-0) in the third round. Clara drew more attention after putting Cameroon to the sword.

Against Cameroon, she scored four goals to seal Tanzania's victory in the first leg of the fourth and final round of the U-17 Women's World Cup qualifiers.

Her exploits in the World Cup qualifiers led her to be nominated for the 2022 CAF Best Young Player award.

The powerful Twiga Stars striker was awarded the Best Young Player of the 2021/22 Women’s Premier League season.

She was also crowned Best Female Player of the Year in 2022. However, she missed out on the Serengeti Girls World Cup campaign in India.

In India, Serengeti Girls made history by qualifying for the quarterfinal stage of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup despite missing Clara.

After almost a year out, Clara is now back to the senior women’s national team and was part of the Twiga Stars squad that beat Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties in the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers played at Azam Complex Stadium in Dar es Salaam last month.