Certain words recur in analyses of Girma’s attributes as a player: intelligence, composure, calm. That’s also a pretty accurate summation of how she presents in conversation, although I’d be tempted to add guarded. Certain topics are off the table today. One is her best friend and Stanford teammate Katie Meyer, who died by suicide three years ago. The loss prompted Girma, who dedicated her 2023 World Cup campaign to Meyer, to help set up Create the Space, a retreat designed to encourage conversations around mental health in women’s soccer.
Another is Donald Trump, who as we speak is dismantling diversity programs at home in the US. Girma, who is the first player of Ethiopian descent in the history of the United States women’s national team (“my parents always feel really proud when they hear that”), will say that diversity is “super important.” It was widely seen as key to Team USA’s enormous success at the 2024 Games—not so very long ago, the country’s Olympic athletes were overwhelmingly white. “It was really cool for us to be on the highest stage representing how impactful it can be,” she says, “not only to our team, but also to the people watching.” Naomi’s own heritage, of course, informed her upbringing in countless ways. “Family and community is such a big thing in Ethiopia—our parents made sure that me and my brother had those values, of really supporting your friends and family, and being there for one another.”
Girma glows when she talks about her family—Nathaniel has already been over for a visit and her mother is due in a couple of weeks—and discussions around the next girls’ holiday are underway in the group chat. “We might go to Mexico,” she says, although it seems her habit of overthinking doesn’t extend to destinations and itineraries. “I’m not the one in the friend group who plans the trips,” she admits, laughing.
She has a ready-made circle at Chelsea too: she’s close to midfielder Catarina Macario, who she played with in college, and to their USA teammate Mia Fishel. “It was really nice to go in knowing they were there already. Honestly, after a few days I was like, OK, it’s normal that I’m here.” So she’s taking it all in, ready to turn that single-minded focus to what brought her here: winning trophies. “I’m excited to be part of this team and the legacy and culture around it,” she says. “I’m just excited for this chapter.”
