Angel City Football Club (ACFC) today announced the acquisition of Japanese international midfielder Hina Sugita in a trade with Portland Thorns FC. In exchange, Portland receives defender M.A. Vignola and $600,000 in intra-league transfer funds.
“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to join Angel City,” said Sugita. “I feel a lot of energy and passion from the club, and I'm happy to be part of this community. I'm very excited to play for this team and look forward to seeing the fans at BMO Stadium.”
"Hina is a world class midfielder who has consistently been one the best players in this extremely competitive league,” said ACFC Sporting Director Mark Parsons. “She is dynamic with high game intelligence who we believe helps us on the field and brings valuable experience off the field. We are proud to bring a championship-caliber player to Angel City.”
“Hina is one of the players that we have wanted for quite some time,” said ACFC Head Coach Alex Straus. “We believe she will fit right in with the direction we are going as she brings a very specific skillset to the midfield. She has played in this league since 2022 for a good team and has been a difference maker for them, so we look forward to having Hina in our environment.”
Sugita joins ACFC as one of the world’s most dynamic midfielders. A proven winner on both the international and club stage, she arrives in Los Angeles ready to fuel ACFC’s pursuit of trophies.
For her country, Sugita has been a constant presence with the Japanese Women’s National Team, earning 51 international caps and representing Japan at two FIFA Women’s World Cups (2019, 2023 and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Long before becoming a senior team standout, she captured the spotlight at the youth level, twice earning the coveted Golden Ball honors at the FIFA Youth World Cups (2014 for U-17 and 2016 for U-20), recognizing her as the tournaments’ best player.
At the club level, Sugita entered the NWSL in 2022 with the Portland Thorns FC, making an immediate impact in her debut season by helping the club capture the 2022 NWSL Championship. During her three years in Portland, Sugita tallied 13 goals and 14 assists, ranking sixth in Thorns’ history for assists. In the 2025 campaign, she appeared in 22 matches (18 starts), logging 1,548 minutes and three assists. Her NWSL career totals include 82 appearances, 71 starts, and 6,264 minutes played.
Before her move to the NWSL, Sugita starred with INAC Kobe Leonessa in Japan, where she helped the team clinch back-to-back JFA Empress Cups (2015, 2016) and earned recognition as the JFA Best Young Player (2016).
