Clara Luvanga: Al Nassr striker on ‘hero’ Ronaldo and ‘becoming best in Africa’

When the new Saudi Women’s Premier League campaign gets underway on Friday, Al-Nassr striker Clara Luvanga will be looking to pick up where she left off.

The 19-year-old Tanzanian opted to swap Spain for Saudi Arabia last October and made an immediate impression – despite her decision raising a few eyebrows, particularly in her homeland.

“It was my best season so far and I’m so happy to have helped the team win their second successive league championship,” Luvanga told BBC Sport Africa.

Just two months before joining Al-Nassr, Luvanga had swapped Yanga Princess in her homeland for Spanish second division side Dux Logrono.

The move to Europe appeared to be the perfect place to develop, but the talented teenager played only six matches, scoring two goals, before Al-Nassr – whose men’s team is home to Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane – swooped to bring her to the Kingdom’s fledgling women’s competition.

Her debut campaign brought 11 goals and a league-best seven assists.

In fact, only three players in the division scored more than Luvanga, one of whom was her Algerian team-mate, ex-PSG midfielder Lina Boussaha.

“I had a very good time in Spain but when I got a chance to go play in the Saudi league, I thought it was better to look at other challenges based on my goals.”

In 2022-23, the debut Women’s Premier League campaign, the club won the championship by three points; last season they cantered to victory with a 10-point cushion.

“It was difficult initially to get used to the environment in Saudi Arabia, including the language, food and many things, but now I’m used to it and everything is going well, and I’m happy.”