Lia Joëlle Wälti (Swiss Standard German: [ˈliːa joˈɛlə ˈvɛlti]; born 19 April 1993) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Juventus and captains the Switzerland national team. Before signing for Arsenal in July 2018, she played for Nationalliga A club YB Frauen from 2009 until 2013 and for Bundesliga club Turbine Potsdam from 2013 until 2018.
She has been a member of the Switzerland national team since August 2011.[2] As an Under-19 international she played the 2009 U-19 European Championship[3] and the 2010 U-20 World Cup.[4] In 2025, she captained Switzerland to their home European Championship, where they reached the quarter-finals.
In her childhood, Wälti played ice hockey as well as football.[5] In 2002, at the age of 8, she started playing for FC Langnau, a boys football team coached by her father. In 2007 she was admitted to the Huttwill Training Centre and, half a year later, she joined Team Bern West. In 2009 she moved to BSC Young Boys, where she played for a year in the U16 boys' team.
At the same time she played for Team Bern West, Wälti joined FC Köniz of the Swiss Challenge League.
In 2009, Wälti joined BSC YB Frauen, where, in 2011, she won the Nationalliga A. In the same year, she debuted in the UEFA Women's Champions League.[6]
In 2013, Wälti signed a contract with 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam of the Frauen-Bundesliga.[7] She was named captain in her second season and played 110 games between 2013 and 2018.
After 110 appearances with the German team, Wälti signed a contract with Arsenal in July 2018.[8] Wälti was instrumental in Arsenal's 2018–2019 WSL league winning season although only played half of the season after she suffered a LCL injury which kept her out of football for 9 months In April 2019.[9] She was included in the 2018-2019 PFA Team of the Year.[10] On 13 December 2019, Wälti signed a long-term contract with the club.[11]
She later managed to achieve the 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League with the club.[12] In September 2025, after 7 years and 183 appearances for Arsenal, Wälti announced her departure from the club.[13]
On 4 September 2025, Wälti joined Serie A side Juventus by signing a contract until 2027.[14]
Wälti played in the 2008 U-17 European Championship. She also played for the Switzerland U19 team in 2008 and 2009. She reached the semifinals in the 2009 U-19 European Championship. The next year, she joined the U20 team at the 2010 U-20 World Cup.
On 21 August 2011, Wälti made her debut for the Switzerland senior team in a match against Scotland. In 2015, she played at the World Cup.[15] In 2019 after the retirement of Lara Dickenmann, she was named captain.[16]
On 23 June 2025, Wälti was called up to the Switzerland squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025.[17]
Wälti carries her mother's surname, a former national handball player, while her father, Andreas Aebi, played football in the first division.[18]
| Club | Season | League | Cups | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Turbine Potsdam | 2013–14 | Frauen-Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 2 |
| 2014–15 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 25 | 2 | |||
| 2015–16 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | 15 | 2 | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |||
| Total | 97 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 115 | 9 | ||
| Arsenal | 2018–19 | WSL | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 113 | 1 | 29 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 177 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 210 | 8 | 41 | 2 | 41 | 3 | 292 | 13 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 November 2011 | Stadion Brügglifeld, Switzerland |  Kazakhstan
|
4–0 | 8–1 | UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying |
| 2 | 21 September 2013 | Colovray Sports Centre, Switzerland |  Serbia
|
4–0 | 9–0 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 11 March 2015 | Estádio Municipal de Albufeira, Portugal |  Brazil
|
1–2 | 1–4 | 2015 Algarve Cup |
| 4 | 6 March 2017 | Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Cyprus |  Italy
|
3–0 | 6–0 | 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 5 | 24 November 2017 | LIPO Park, Schaffhausen, Switzerland |  Belarus
|
2–0 | 3–0 | 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
BSC YB Frauen
Turbine Potsdam
Arsenal
Individual
Switzerland squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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