Most football careers begin with a coach, a tryout, or a parent’s nudge. Yara Mischael Velasques started hers simply by refusing to be left behind. The youngest of three and the only girl, she grew up chasing her two older brothers across a park near their home, learning the game the hard way — against boys who gave her nothing.
Built on the pitch, not in a classroom
That backyard competitiveness hardened into real skill. At Summit School, her talent found structure, and before long it carried her somewhere bigger: a spot on the Al Etihad Football Team, in a sport still largely defined by men. She didn’t blend in. Coaches and players of different nationalities took notice, and the recognition wasn’t only local.
Then came the armband. Named captain while still young, Yara proved she could do more than play — she could lead. “Her coaches quickly noticed her immense potential,” a detail that opened doors to teams across the UAE, where the trophies and awards began to accumulate.
The year everything accelerated
In 2025, representing Al Etihad, she was named Most Valuable Player during a championship match — the kind of single-game performance that announces an arrival. Her first international outing followed soon after in Bahrain, an early taste of competition beyond home soil. On May 24, her side claimed the championship in Manchester City.
What comes next
The next chapter is already booked. From June 29 to July 6, Yara is set to compete in Portugal, having earned her place through trial games and a selection to represent ADEC against a deep pool of athletes. She’ll go as the only Filipina on her team — carrying her own ambitions and her community’s pride in equal measure.
For a player who learned the game by keeping up with her brothers, the international stage feels less like a leap than the next logical step.
