Today, Angel City announced that the club has signed Brazilian midfielder Maiara Niehues to a three-year contract through 2027. Maiara comes to Angel City from Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting CP) for an undisclosed transfer fee. She will occupy one of ACFC’s international spots and will be eligible to play pending receipt of her International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“I’m super excited to play for Angel City," stated Niehues. “It’s a massive club, with excellent facilities and incredible people. My goal is to help Angel City win championships. I also believe this is the right step in my career. I can’t wait to join this special club and play in front of the fans!”
“Maiara is a box-to-box midfielder with a tremendous future and we are delighted to welcome her to Angel City,” said ACFC Sporting Director Mark Parsons. “Maiara has shown in the Brazil youth national team and for Sporting CP in Portugal that she is ready to take this step and we believe she can have an important impact for our club over many years."
At just 20 years old, Niehues has spent the past three seasons with Sporting CP, appearing in 57 matches in all competitions, earning 18 goals and three assists in 3,214 minutes on the pitch. Prior to her time with Sporting CP, she played for Brazilian club S.C. Internacional, appearing in matches for their senior, U-20, U-18, U-17, and U-16 teams from 2020 to 2022. She compiled a combined eight goals and four assists in all competitions while helping the club’s U-20 section to a 2022 National Championship appearance.
Originally from Itapiranga, Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, Niehues also recently made two match appearances for the U-20 Brazil Women’s National Team in the 2024 U-20 Women’s World Cup, where they defeated Cameroon 3–1, before a narrow 1–0 loss to North Korea.
