By Jinseong Kim

AFC Ann Arbor are delighted to announce the signing of Lina Berrah ahead of the 2022 USL W League campaign. Born in Switzerland and a current attendee of Campbellsville University, and a teammate of recent AFCAA signee Angeline Kieh, Berrah makes history as the first Swiss national to don the colors of The Mighty Oak for the women’s side.

This past collegiate season, as a freshman, Berrah’s performances were essential for Campbellsville to finish the conference third and reach the NAIA National Tournament. Berrah appeared in all 18 games of the season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists, which named her as the third-most scored and second-most assisted player of the team. She was also selected to the NCCAA DI Mideast All-Regional Team.

Berrah started her soccer career at the age of six in a local club named FC Epalinges. She had to play with boys until the age of 16 since the team didn’t have a separate women’s team. Despite the physical difference, Berrah stood out as the best striker on the team. The striker then transferred to the Lausanne Nord Academy female team and played for them for two years.

At 18-years-old, the Epalinges native decided to head over to the United States for the next new challenge in her career. She committed to the NAIA side of Campbellsville University in January 2021 and started her freshmen year in August.

The Swiss striker didn’t hide her excitement about joining the squad and noted her eagerness to develop herself. “I am really excited to be part of this team and know new people from around the world.” She would add, “I chose AFC Ann Arbor because I liked the coach [Boyzzz Khumalo]’s philosophy and am excited to be able to play in this competitive environment.”

Competitiveness led Berrah to the United States from Switzerland. As discussing the differences between playing soccer in Europe and the U.S., she pointed out the physical competitiveness that American soccer has and how it helped her improve as a player. “Soccer in the U.S. is more physical while in Europe, it is more technical. But it allows me to maintain decent physical shape and learn another way of soccer.” Berrah would continue, “[Women’s] soccer here is more ‘professional’ in collegiate level in terms of infrastructures and how they care about players.”

As a player, Berrah described herself as a fast, technical striker, and disclosed her goal to contribute to the team. “My best attribute is speed, and I’m also technical. I work hard to achieve my goals and always want to improve and learn new things.” She ended, “My goal is to grow as a player but also as a person. I want to give my best effort to help the team achieve the goal.”

Berrah’s addition to the squad signifies the multicultural, international composition of AFCAA. Boyzzz Khumalo, also chimed in and emphasized the value of having a multicultural squad, and how soccer has no barriers to bonding them for a common goal. “I think it’s very important to have different cultures on the soccer field. But then, another thing is that when players get on the field, the only language they speak is the language of soccer. Even though some players don’t speak the same language on the field, they do once they step on the field and recognize the moments on what to do and what not to do.” He continued, “Another thing I like to say is soccer brings us together. My job as a coach is to give players opportunities, my job is to help them.”

The Mighty Oak Family looks forward to welcoming Lina Berrah to a community where everyone, and every culture, is respected.