Young Malaysian Girl Rockin’ the Football Field

Women in football aren’t often in the spotlight compared to their male counterparts in the big leagues. Yet, rising stars like Celine Chuang are more than likely to change that. The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) recently revealed that the young Malaysian became the first female footballer to play for Bayern Munich, known to be one of the biggest football clubs in Europe.

The 15-year-old started playing for Germany’s FC Bayern Munich’s second B-17 women’s squad since July. According to Celine, she began serious football training when she was 11-years-old at the Blue Star Sports Association (PSBB) in Penang, about four years ago. In an interview with Astro Awani, Celine mentioned that she fell in love with the sport because she got to learn new and fun techniques, as it also helped her maintain balanced mental health in the face of challenges.

FAM’s announcement on Celine Chuang. (source: Football Association of Malaysia on Facebook)

Celine has skills! (source: Astro Awani)

Celine in action! (source: Astro Awani)

Celine with her then teammates in FC Wacken Munchen e.V (source: Astro Awani)

Humble origins – Celine in the B-15 Harimau Malaya team. (source: Astro Awani)

After a while of training locally, she then decided to go overseas to level up. Celine migrated to Phuket, Thailand and went through intense training with the British Phuket International School (BISP) for two years. According to Celine, she learnt a lot about the basics of football while training in Malaysia, whereas in Thailand, training is more intense and in-depth because it is carried out every week under the Cruzeiro methodology. Celine then made the decision to attend a selection session with the Bavarian club last February out of her aspirations to become a professional footballer in the German League and World Cup. All her efforts paid off when her name was announced as one of 10 new players selected to play for the second women’s B-17 Bayern Munich squad.

Celine had also played and trained with B-15 men’s team FC Wacker Munchen e.V. “Playing and training with FC Wacker Munchen e.V taught me how to improve techniques and made me more confident,” she said.

Celine’s name now gains popularity among German fans, following her success scoring one goal for the B-15 men’s team Wacker Munchen e.V, and another goal with the second female B-17 team FC Bayern Munich. Prior to this, Celine had scored her first international goal with the female B-15 Harimau Malaya squad in the Asean Football Federation B-15 2019 Women’s Championship in a match defeating Cambodia 2-1 in Chonburi, Thailand.