Back in Malaysia, she continued to rack up the successes. At the age of 13, she joined first-division side MBSJ FC – a team full of internationals from around the world. This meant that she got to play against women who were often twice as old as she was, and to date, she is the youngest player and youngest goal-scorer of all time in the FAS Women’s Super League. Her team also won the title, and Rania was voted the league’s best young player. In what was an additional honour for her, the trophy was presented by none other than Crown Prince Tengku Amir Shah!
The following year, Rania changed clubs and went on to win the domestic cup competition. In 2023, VfL Wolfsburg set up an office in Malaysia, with one of its missions being to foster local talent. Rania’s father contacted the VfL office and since then has been in regular contact with Ken Hew, VfL’s Chief Representative in South-East Asia. A year later almost to the day, after countless discussions and fine-tuning of the organisational details, Rania and her father received the green light. As it was the school holidays in Malaysia, the pair headed straight off to Germany. Shortly after her arrival, Rania was handed her green-and-white training kit and her own individual training plan for the period of her stay.
Trip to Wolfsburg
Rania was in Germany from 8 August to 7 September and trained with the She-Wolves’ youth section, getting the opportunity to see how she measured up against the U15s and U17s. She also featured in U15 squads for a tournament and a friendly. It was a packed programme for the 14-year-old, but she gave it her all from start to finish. Even on days when there were no training sessions, the youngster headed out to the artificial pitches to do some extra work. “Compared with our girls, Rania is physically very strong,” said U15 women’s coach Anna Fries, before going on to talk about how the player seemed to relish hard work. “She always looks motivated, she works hard and she’s pretty ambitious.”
“My goal is to play professional football!”
Speaking of which, Rania’s avowed goal “is to play professional football!” Not that she is looking just to take part – she already has silverware in her sights, and over here as well. “One day, I want to win the German league and the DFB Cup,” she said. “My heroes are Alex Popp and Jule Brand.”
“The experience that Rania acquired during her four weeks here will no doubt help her move forward with her football,” said VfL Wolfsburg Women head of junior sport Daniel Kraus, underlining how important this experience was for Malaysia’s wunderkind. “She got to see what professional set-ups were like, and train and play at a different level from what she is used to in her homeland.”
There is plenty of anticipation back home in the province of Selangor, and not just from Raina’s family. Local minister Ahmad Azri took a particular interest in the player’s trip and asked to be kept informed of developments. “Mr Azri was a real help in our being able to come over here to Wolfsburg,” said Rania’s father, expressing his thanks both to the minister and of course to VfL Wolfsburg.
