Vivienne Theresa Upendo Lia (born 27 September 2006) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Women's Super League club Arsenal and the England Under-19 national team.
Lia grew up in North London, as the youngest of five siblings,[4] and is a life-long Arsenal fan.[5] She joined Whetstone Wanderers at the age of 10, followed by the Arsenal Women's Academy at the age of 14.[4] Lia made 4 appearances for the academy team in the 2023–24 season, scoring one goal.[1]
Lia made her senior debut for Arsenal at the age of 17 on 14 February 2024 against London City Lionesses in the quarter-finals of the Women's League Cup, replacing Katie McCabe in the 82nd minute.[6] She then made her second appearance for the Gunners in their League Cup semi-final, a 4–0 win over Aston Villa, coming on in the 90th minute to replace Frida Maanum.[7]
Lia started for the Gunners in their 2024 post-season 1–0 win against A-League All-Stars Women, providing the assist for the only goal of the game, scored by fellow striker Alessia Russo.[8][9] Later in the summer, Lia started in Arsenal's first pre-season match against Washington Spirit, before being replaced by Steph Catley in the 78th minute.[10]
Lia signed her first professional contract with Arsenal on 14 January 2025.[11][12]
On 18 January 2025, Women's Championship side Southampton F.C. announced that Lia had signed on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season,[13] where she went on to make 9 appearances across all competitions for the club.[3]
Lia has represented the England under-17 and under-19 national teams.
Lia received her first under-17 call-up in October 2022 for the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification rounds,[14] which saw England play Ukraine, hosts Estonia, and Denmark. She scored her first goal at Under-17 level in a 10 - 0 win against Ukraine.[15] Lia was then named in the squad for the second qualifying round,[16] which saw England claim their place at the 2023 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship Finals but did not make the Finals squad.
Over a year after her last England call-up, Lia received her first Under-19 call-up in April 2024. Named by head coach John Griffiths for the second round of the under-19 Championship qualification,[17] she helped the youth team qualify for the finals of the 2024 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. Lia then featured in the squad for the finals of the 2024 European Championship,[18] in which England were knocked out in the semi-finals by Spain.[19]
Lia was selected for both round one and round two of qualifying for the 2025 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship,[20][21] scoring three goals in the second round to help England qualify for the Finals tournament.[2] In February 2025, she was again called up to the under-19 squad, alongside Saints teammates Araya Dennis and Laila Harbert, for the Albir Garden Tournament.[22] In June 2025, new manager Lauren Smith announced her squad for the finals of the 2025 European Under-19 Championship in Poland, with Lia's name down as one of 6 young Arsenal players.[23]
A speedy and skillful winger,[4] she is versatile and can also play at right-back when required.[24][25] Lia describes herself as "quite direct and creative".[26]
| Club | Season | League | League Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Southampton (loan) | 2024–25 | Women's Championship | 9 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |
| Career total | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
