Naomi Girma is hours away from debuting in the Olympics for the USWNT. She is at the center of Emma Hayes’ squad’s rock-solid defense. A Team USA regular since 2022, Girma owes her growth as a star soccer player to her Ethiopian father who fled war and migrated to the US. It was through her father, Girma Aweke’s soccer academy that Naomi blossomed as a fine defender. Meanwhile, the 24-year-old’s mother Seble often made sure to be by her side during rigorous training sessions in the Bay Area.

Naomi Girma has been an NCAA champion with Stanford. She lifted the NWSL Challenge Cup with the San Diego Wave. Girma’s family was by her side to rejoice in all these wins. Now is the time for the ace defender to win big with the USWNT, as Team USA eyes a fifth Olympic gold.

All about Naomi Girma’s Ethiopian parents and their role in shaping her career

20 years before Naomi Girma was born, her father Girma Aweke, still a teenager, and his four friends would escape a war-struck Ethiopia by foot and travel to the US. Aweke’s journey was so awe-inspiring that he survived near-death experiences during the journey after contracting malaria. Thanks to the tough circumstances he has been through, Aweke would find success and love in California. The USWNT star’s father worked as an electrical engineer. Besides, he is not the one to forget his roots.

Aweke and his friends would form the Maleda Soccer Club in San Jose for Ethiopian immigrants and their children. The USWNT center-back started her soccer journey at the Maleda Soccer Club. Girma once happily said that her father, “created that environment for me, and making it such a fun and safe space for me to fall in love with soccer,” referring to Maleda Soccer Club.

The US defender’s mother Seble is also of Ethiopian origin. She migrated to California to pursue higher education. Seble, who worked as a bank manager would later meet fellow Ethiopian Girma Aweke in the Bay Area and the two would later welcome two children together. Seble has time and again gleefully recalled commuting from work to her children’s training centers to take them home. Now, let’s see who Naomi Girma’s sibling is.

Meet Naomi Girma’s brother Nathaniel

Born in 1997, Nathaniel is three years older than Naomi Girma. Much like her father, Naomi’s brother too has inspired and helped her improve her footballing skill sets. “My dad and my brother influenced me a lot”¦ my Dad loved playing growing up and my brother just started playing and I wanted to be him,” said Naomi Girma in an interview with GOAL. Besides, she has also time and again said that her brother Nathaniel immensely helped her to be a first-generation American, as both of their parents were migrants.

Nathaniel unlike Naomi seems to not have ventured into professional soccer. So nothing is known about his current professional background. While there are quite a lot of intriguing stories about Naomi Girma’s family background, her dating life remains ambiguous. There has never been a rumor romantically linking her to someone. Neither has the 24-year-old posted any romance-related stuff on her social media.