Vitória Yaya

Vitória Ferreira Silva (born 23 January 2002), known as Vitória Yaya or just Yaya, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Corinthians.

Club career

Early career

Born in Suzano but raised in Ferraz de Vasconcelos, both in the São Paulo state, Yaya joined Centro Olímpico's youth setup at the age of 13; due to her style of play being similar to Yaya Touré, she earned that nickname. In 2017, she moved to São Paulo, after the club established a partnership with Centro Olímpico.

São Paulo

Promoted to the first team for the 2019 season, Yaya made her senior debut on 27 March 2019, starting and scoring the winner in a 1–0 Série A2 home success over América Mineiro. She was a regular starter during the club's league campaign, as they achieved promotion to the Série A1 as champions.

Santos

On 8 January 2023, Yaya was announced at Santos. Despite being a regular starter, she left on 20 December.

Corinthians

On 5 January 2024, it was announced that Yaya signed with Corinthians after her contract ended.

International career

Yaya represented Brazil at under-17 level in 2018 South American U-17 Women's Championship and 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. On 20 August 2019, aged 17, she received her first call-up for the full side, for the year's International Women's Football Tournament; she remained an unused substitute in Brazil's two matches in the competition.

After playing for the under-20 team in the 2020 and 2022 editions of the South American Under-20 Women's Football Championship, Yaya made her full international debut on 10 October 2022, replacing Ary Borges late into a 1–0 friendly win over Italy at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

On 1 February 2024, Yaya was called up to the Brazil squad for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

On 2 July 2024, Yaya was called up to the Brazil squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.