Risa Shimizu joined West Ham United in late August of 2022. 

Born in Kobe - Japan’s seventh largest city - Shimizu began playing football at the age of seven. Initially, she started playing as a striker before moving back into midfield and then finally specialising at full-back.

While at the Tokyo Verdy Beleza academy, Shimizu befriended former Hammer, Yui Hasegawa, with the duo rising through the ranks alongside each other at both Club and international level. 

In the 2015 Nadeshiko League season, Shimizu played in every single league game and was instrumental in leading the team to the domestic title for the first time in five years. Since that victory, Shimizu and Beleza won multiple trophies, including successive domestic titles, the annual Empress' Cup, the League Cup and the AFC Women's Club Championship.

Shimizu has also been hugely successful on the international stage. The defender earned her first cap for Japan in a 2-0 victory against Switzerland in October 2017 and has been a mainstay at right-back for her country ever since. 

She has earned over 50 caps for her country and won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2018 and the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship where she was voted the tournament’s ‘Most Valuable Player’. 

In her debut season with West Ham United, Shimizu played 28 times in Claret & Blue, earning a reputation of being a solid and hardworking defender by fans in the Barclays Women's Super League. 

Shimizu represented Japan at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, scoring for Japan in their Round of 16 victory over Norway, which saw her become the first ever West Ham United Women's player to score at a World Cup. 

Follow Risa on Social Media:

X (formally Twitter): @gn2kr

Instagram: risa_shimizu_2