18-year-old Ascent Soccer standout moves to French Premiere Ligue side Montpellier HSC

Ascent Soccer midfielder and two-time Malawi Player of the Year, Rose Kadzere (18) has officially joined Montpellier HSC of France’s top women’s league, on a three-year deal. 

A full-time academy player with Ascent Soccer since 2018, Kadzere becomes Malawi's first ever player (male or female) to make a direct professional football move to one of Europe's top five leagues.

“Rose is a special footballer, who has made the most of her development opportunity on the pitch at Ascent Soccer,” shared academy co-founder George Maguire. “This moment is a testament to Rose’s hardwork and dedication to the game, and she is paving the way for the emerging talent of Malawi and Ascent Soccer.”

In May, Kadzere was a nominee for the Female Emerging Talent Award at the inaugural COSAFA Awards, after she starred for the Malawi senior national team in November, when they claimed the nation's first COSAFA Cup title. In their five tournament wins, Kadzere scored a goal and added four assists.

Also capped at the youth level with Malawi’s U17 & U20 squads, Kadzere was the 2022 COSAFA U17 ‘Golden Boot’ Award Winner with eight goals in six games, while also being named to the Tournament XI.

Montpellier HSC president Laurent Nicollin was eager to welcome the first Malawian player in club history. "I am thrilled with Rose’s arrival," he explained. "It is now up to her to bring her freshness to the field and we’re hopeful that Rose will deliver a lot to our attack."

MHSC is very proud to welcome their new number 99, Rose Kadzere.

Ascent Soccer has been the anchor provider of players to Malawi’s female youth national teams and has already nurtured seven teenage senior national team players, including four that featured in Malawi’s first-ever COSAFA Cup victory in South Africa last year.

In July, the Ascent Soccer U16 girls became Malawi’s first full female squad (junior or senior) to ever play competitively in Europe, with Faith Chinzimu leading the way with nine goals in six games, versus the likes of Arsenal, Brighton, Bayern Munich and FC Nordsjaelland.

In May, the Ascent Soccer U21 Girls became the first youth team on the planet to qualify for an adult/senior Champions League with their senior women’s national title. Ascent’s championship winning squad was also a youthful one, with an average age of just 17.5 years.