Arsenal Women have announced the signing of German international Tabea Kemme from Turbine Potsdam. She follows Swiss international Lia Wälti, who joined the club from Potsdam this summer too. Kemme is currently injured having damaged her knee cartilage and isn’t expected to return to action until the end of 2018. The transfer was agreed in principle prior to her injury and Arsenal decided to proceed.
Kemme is an incredibly versatile player, capable of playing at full-back, on the wing and even upfront. She has 46 caps for her country and was a gold medal winner at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The 26 year old has played for Potsdam for 12 years, winning a Champions League title and four Frauen-Bundesliga crowns. Kemme is also a qualified police officer.
Tabea Kemme goal puts Turbine Potsdam 2 up #AFBL #FrauenBundesliga #womensfootball Video: https://t.co/2FLcPHDMAL pic.twitter.com/S4ZyXvZzHH
— WomensSoccerUnited (@WSUasa) September 10, 2016
Kemme told Arsenal.com, “I played for 12 years in Potsdam and now I’m ready for the next step, the next challenge, my new adventure here at Arsenal.
“It doesn’t matter for me [which position I play]. It’s important for me to stay on the pitch where I can help the team make good progress in the league. I’m flexible, so it’s the decision of the coach where I will play.
“I met him in January and we talked about Arsenal, how they want to play, and he said, ‘OK, we want to play offensive’ and that’s exactly my thing. Of course we did the same thing at Potsdam so I know the playing style. He also said he didn’t know exactly which position I would play, so we will see.
“The main point for me was that I wanted to play football in another country with a new language, a new culture, another tradition,” Kemme added.
“What was also important to me was that I finished my job at my university in Potsdam, in Germany, and now I’m prepared to only play professional football. I’m going to be free so I know I have a job and when I go back [to Germany] I can go to work as normal. I feel more free to focus on football.” Kemme will wear the number 21 shirt.
Arsenal are also rumoured to be interested in Lyon goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin to provide competition to Sari van Veenendaal. Current back up goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse could leave subsequently.
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Nice. She seems very down to earth. Very interesting to hear that she also studied at the university. Good thing! I just wondered how high the wages are in Women’s Football. Does anyone know?
There is a lot of variance depending on clubs, but an Arsenal player can get somewhere between £25-50k a year. They are also centrally contracted to their national teams, where they receive a wage of about £20k pa if they play for England, for instance.
Thanks for this information, Tim.
I can’t say that I’m surprised at the figures mentioned, but it
really does make you wonder, given the sheer amount of money
floating about within the industry.
The low or non-existant wages in a lot of women’s sports make some of the athletes quit in advance. Last month I read about a female ice hockey player (a member of the Swedish champion club and a German international, if memory serves correct) who quit at the age of 27 because the economic restraints were too much.
Thanks for the interesting info, Tim.
That makes it kind of inevitable for women to learn a second profession as well, and I reckon that makes it quite difficult to fully focus on football. For me, that makes the amounts of money floating around in men’s sports seem even more unethical.
Unfortunately the world we’re living in operates mostly on supply & demand. And the demand for men’s football is as high as any non-essential product or service right now. It’s going to take a lot of time, investment and effort to change the disparities between men and women’s football. How many women’s games have you watched lately? This is not a personal attack, but simply a rhetorical meant to highlight the long road for equality in a sport where even amateur girl players cannot name a professional outside of the very best who they only get to see for five… Read more »
Welcome to the Arsenal, Tabea.
Speedy recovery and welcome to Arsenal!
Absolutely cracking player. The Arsenal are making some stunning signings this summer!