Akane Ōkuma

Akane Okuma
大熊 茜
Okuma in 2026
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-09-15) 15 September 2004 (age 22)
Place of birth Chiba, Japan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Aston Villa W.F.C.
Number 23
Youth career
Takane Higashi SSS
–2022 JEF United Chiba
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 JEF United Chiba 10 (0)
2024–2026 INAC Kobe Leonessa 39 (0)
2026– Aston Villa 5 (0)
International career‡
Japan U20 10 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 4 October 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 08:45, 25 October 2024 (UTC)

Akane Okuma (大熊 茜, Ōkuma Akane; born 15 September 2004) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club Aston Villa and the Japan national team.

Career

Club

Okuma started her professional career in 2022 at the women's football club JEF United Chiba Ladies that competes in the WE League, a top tier competition of women's association football in Japan. In 2024, she joined INAC Kobe Leonessa, which was the first WE League champion team in the 2021–22 season. Her team were runners-up in the 2024–25 season and winner in 2025–26 season.

In 2026, Okuma signed with Women's Super League club Aston Villa W.F.C. in England. In her first game with Villa on 5 September 2026, she had the most saves − of nine − of any goalkeeper in the opening matches of the 2026–27 WSL season, which earned her a headline "Unbeatable Okuma." She was declared "Player of the match" in a 1−1 draw against Chelsea F.C. By then, Villa had lost all 12 of their previous WSL games against Chelsea. Sky Sports reported it as a "historic point [for Villa] at Stamford Bridge."

International

In June 2024, she took part in the Sud Ladies Cup in France with Japan. Okuma was part of the Japan squad that won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup and the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 October 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
JEF United Chiba 2022–24 WE League Stats not available
INAC Kobe Leonessa 2024–26 Nadeshiko League Stats not available
Aston Villa 2026–27 Women's Super League 5 0 0 0 1 0 – 6 0
Career total 500010 0 060

International

As of match played 15 April 2026
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Japan 2024 4 0
2025 4 0
2026 2 0
Total 10 0

References

  1. ↑ "GK Okuma Akane". JFA. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Akane Okuma Career History". Opta Analyst. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 Freedman, Sally (21 July 2026). "Women's Super League transfer news: Aston Villa sign Japan goalkeeper Akane Okuma". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "INAC KOBE LEONESSA crowned champions of 2021-22 Yogibo WE LEAGUE. "Performance befitting for the first WE LEAGUE Champions" – the Chair of WE LEAGUE". Women Empowerment League. 8 May 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Football: INAC secure 1st WE League title in 4 seasons as Urawa slip". Japan Wire by Kyodo News. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  6. ↑ Football, W. S. L. (8 September 2026). "Gameweek 1 stats: Fisk, Okuma and Shaw steal the show | BWSL". WSL Football. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  7. ↑ Sanders, Emma (5 September 2026). "Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa: Lauren James scores but late own goal earns Villa draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (5 September 2026). "Own goal and inspired debut from keeper Akane Okuma earn Villa point at Chelsea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "Chelsea held to draw by Aston Villa in their first WSL game of the season". www.espn.com.au. 5 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  10. ↑ "Chelsea 1-1 Aston Villa: Lauren James strike cancelled out late on as Villa earn historic point at Stamford Bridge". Sky Sports. 5 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "Festival International Espoirs Football Tournoi Maurice Revello Toulon". tournoimauricerevello.com (in French). Maurice Revello Tournament. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  12. ↑ "United States vs Japan: Japan wins SheBelieves Cup". BBC Sport. 27 February 2025. Archived from the original on 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  13. ↑ "Aston Villa sign Japanese international goalkeeper Okuma". Yahoo Sports. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "A.Okuma". uk.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 October 2026.