| Haley Bugeja | |
| Fullname: | Haley Bugeja[1] |
| Birth Date: | 2004 5, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Pietà, Malta |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Forward |
| Currentclub: | Inter Milan |
| Clubnumber: | 7 |
| Youthclubs1: | Mġarr United |
| Years1: | 2018–2020 |
| Clubs1: | Mġarr United |
| Caps1: | 29 |
| Goals1: | 52 |
| Years2: | 2020–2022 |
| Clubs2: | Sassuolo |
| Caps2: | 30 |
| Goals2: | 15 |
| Years3: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs3: | Orlando Pride |
| Caps3: | 4 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2023– |
| Clubs4: | Inter Milan |
| Caps4: | 22 |
| Goals4: | 4 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2019–2021 |
| Nationalteam1: | Malta U17 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 6 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Nationalyears2: | 2020– |
| Nationalteam2: | Malta |
| Nationalcaps2: | 31 |
| Nationalgoals2: | 19 |
| Pcupdate: | 12 May 2024 |
| Ntupdate: | 16 July 2024 |
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.
Bugeja made her senior club debut at the age of 14 for Maltese Women's League club Mġarr United during the 2018–19 season.[2] 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.[3] Bugeja retained her player of the year title the following season although, despite matching her 26 goal total from the previous season, was beaten to the golden boot by Loza Abera of Birkirkara who scored 30.[4] [5] Mġarr United finished second to Birkirkara in the league both seasons.
In July 2020, Bugeja signed a thee-year deal with Italian Serie A club Sassuolo.[6] She made her debut for the club on 5 September 2020, at the age of 16, in Sassuolo's 3–1 win against Napoli. Bugeja scored the first and third goal for her team.[7]
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.[8] After making five appearances for the Pride across all competitions, the club transferred her on 3 July 2023 for an undisclosed fee to Italian Serie A club Inter Milan.[9]
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.[10] She scored her first goal in a 2–1 home friendly defeat by Turkey in January 2020.[11] A first competitive goal arrived in March 2020, in a 2–1 home UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying Group B win over Georgia.[12] In November 2020 Bugeja scored a hat-trick in Malta's 4–0 win over the same opponents away from home.[13]
.
| Club | Season | League | Cup[14] | Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mġarr United | 2018–19[15] | Maltese Women's League | 19 | 26 | — | — | 19 | 26 | ||||
| 2019–20 | 10 | 26 | — | — | 10 | 26 | ||||||
| Total | 29 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 52 | ||
| Sassuolo | 2020–21 | Serie A | 18 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 12 | ||
| 2021–22 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[16] | 0 | 15 | 3 | |||
| Total | 30 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 15 | ||
| Orlando Pride | 2022 | NWSL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2023–24 | Serie A | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 4 | ||
| Career total | 85 | 71 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 91 | 71 | ||
Statistics accurate as of match played 16 July 2024.
| Year | Malta | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | ||
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 7 | 6 | |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 11 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | |
| Total | 31 | 19 | |
As of match played 22 February 2024. Malta score listed first, score column indicates score after each Bugeja goal.
| No. | Date | Cap | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly | |||
| 2 | [17] | 5 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 2–0 | 2–1 | Euro 2022 qualifying | ||
| 3 | [18] | 8 | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia | 1–0 | 4–0 | |||
| 4 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 5 | 3–0 | |||||||
| 6 | [19] | 9 | Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel | 2–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 7 | [20] | 12 | Hibernians Stadium, Paola, Malta | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2022 Malta International Tournament | ||
| 8 | [21] | 16 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | ||
| 9 | 2–1 | |||||||
| 10 | [22] | 18 | Sportland Arena, Tallinn, Estonia | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||
| 11 | [23] | 19 | Sloka Stadium, Jūrmala, Latvia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C | ||
| 12 | [24] | 20 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 1–0 | 2–0 | |||
| 13 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 14 | [25] | 21 | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta | 1–0 | 5–0 | |||
| 15 | 3–0 | |||||||
| 14 | 22 | Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||||
| 15 | 2–0 | |||||||
| 16 | 3–0 | |||||||
| 17 | 25 | Tony Bezzina Stadium, Paola, Malta | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2024 Malta International Tournament |