Haley Bugeja (born 5 May 2004) is a Maltese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Inter Milan of Serie A and the Malta women's national team. She previously played for Sassuolo in Italy and Orlando Pride in the NWSL, and has been highlighted by FIFA and local media among Europe’s top emerging talents.
Early life Bugeja was born in Pietà on 5 May 2004. She began playing football at around five years old and initially trained with boys due to the lack of girls’ teams at her age group. In a 2021 report by the national broadcaster, she said she supports Liverpool F.C. and cited Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres among her early idols.
Club career Mġarr United Bugeja made her senior club debut at the age of 14 for Maltese Women's League club Mġarr United during the 2018–19 season. She finished the season as the league's top scorer with 26 goals and was named the league's Player of the Year at the Malta FA awards. Bugeja retained her player of the year title the following season although, despite matching her 26 goal total from the previous season, she was beaten to the golden boot by Loza Abera of Birkirkara who scored 30. Mġarr United finished second to Birkirkara in the league both seasons.
Sassuolo In July 2020, Bugeja signed a three-year deal with Italian Serie A club Sassuolo. She made her debut for the club on 5 September 2020, at the age of 16, in Sassuolo's 3–1 win against Napoli and scored twice on debut.
Orlando Pride On 1 July 2022, it was announced Bugeja had signed for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) through the end of the 2023 season. After five appearances across all competitions, Orlando transferred her to Italian Serie A club Inter Milan on 3 July 2023 for an undisclosed fee; Inter announced the move on 10 July 2023.
Inter Milan Bugeja signed through 30 June 2026 and featured regularly for Inter in 2023–24 and 2024–25; local coverage in July 2025 noted a renewed deal and her intent to “push on” after an encouraging season. She has also featured for Inter in UEFA competition in 2025–26.
International career Bugeja won her first senior cap for Malta as a 14-year-old in April 2019, starting a 2–0 friendly defeat by Romania in Bucharest. She scored her first goal in a 2–1 home friendly defeat by Turkey in January 2020. A first competitive goal arrived in March 2020, in a 2–1 home UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B win over Georgia. In November 2020 she scored a hat-trick in Malta's 4–0 win away to Georgia.
In 2025 Bugeja helped Malta clinch promotion to the Women's Nations League B, scoring her 24th senior international goal to seal victory over Cyprus; reports tallied her at 24 goals in 40 caps at that point.
Career statistics Club .
Club Season League CupCoppa Italia and NWSL Challenge Cup Playoffs Other Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsMġarr United2018–19Maltese Women's League1926 ——19262019–201026 ——1026 Total29520000002952Sassuolo2020–21Serie A181220——20122021–2212320—1Supercoppa Italiana0153 Total30154000103515 Orlando Pride2022 NWSL3000——3020231010——20 Total4010001050Inter Milan2023–24Serie A22400——224 Career total85715000109171
International Statistics accurate as of match played 16 July 2024.
Year MaltaAppsGoals2019202020762021202022412023911202471Total3119
International goals As of match played 22 February 2024. Malta score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bugeja goal.
No.DateCapVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition14Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–11–2Friendly25Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta2–02–1Euro 2022 qualifying38Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia1–04–042–053–069Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel2–02–0712Hibernians Stadium, Paola, Malta3–13–12022 Malta International Tournament816Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–12–1Friendly92–11018Sportland Arena, Tallinn, Estonia1–02–11119Sloka Stadium, Jūrmala, Latvia1–01–02023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C1220Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–02–0132–01421Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta1–05–0153–01622Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra1–03–0172–0183–0
Honours Malta FA Women's League Player of the Year: 2018–19, 2019–20 Maltese Women's League top goalscorer: 2018–19 Goal NXGN – ranked 3rd (women’s list): 2022
See also List of Malta women's international footballers
References
External links