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Jeff Kassouf
The Washington Spirit have acquired forward Sofia Cantore via transfer from Serie A side Juventus, making Cantore the first Italian international in NWSL history.
Cantore will join the Spirit after the NWSL transfer window officially opens on July 1.
She has signed a deal with Washington through the 2027 season, with a team option for 2028.
“I’m very proud to join this important club and grateful for their trust in my abilities,” Cantore said in a statement.
“I’m excited to start this new chapter of my career as the first Italian player in the NWSL and can’t wait to work every day with coach Adrián González and my new teammates.”
Cantore was recently named to Italy‘s provisional roster for this summer’s European Championship. The 25-year-old has five goals in 37 appearances for Italy’s senior team and also featured for the Azzurre at the youth level.
She has spent her entire professional career to date in Italy, including several loans while under contract with Juventus.
Cantore scored 11 goals for Juventus this past season, which was second on the team and tied for fifth in Serie A as Juventus won league and cup trophies.
She also scored two of Juventus’ four goals in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Cantore joins a Washington Spirit team that finished runners-up in the 2024 regular season and playoffs but finds itself undergoing another significant transition.
Jonatan Giráldez will leave his position as Spirit head coach in the coming weeks to take over French champions OL Lyonnes, which shares ownership with the Spirit.
His mid-season departure comes a year after a mid-season arrival from Barcelona in 2024. González, who the interim coach while the Spirit awaited the arrival of Giráldez last year and stayed on as an assistant coach, will take over as head coach on a multi-year contract.
The Spirit are currently fourth in the NWSL with one game to play before the league’s summer break.
They continue to deal with a long list of injuries, including the ongoing absence of star American forward Trinity Rodman as she rehabs a back injury.
United States head coach Emma Hayes told ESPN last week that Rodman should return to training with the Spirit in July.
Cantore is expected to further bolster the Spirit’s attack.
“Sofia is an important signing for this Spirit team as we continue to build up our roster to compete for trophies,” González said in a statement.
“Her extensive experience in the Italian leagues and exceptional talent in the attacking third will help add a new layer for the Spirit moving forward.”
The last time an Italian player competed in a U.S. women’s professional league was in 2010, when forward Patrizia Panico played for Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC) in the defunct Women’s Professional Soccer.