With her showing in Friday night’s Westfield W-League match against Canberra United, Khamis will reach centurion status.
Having played in the Westfield W-League competition since it’s inception, Leena Khamis is set to join a very small club of players to have reached the 100-game milestone.
Born in Sydney’s West, Khamis began her football journey as a youngster at the age of 14 with her local grassroots club Macarthur Rams.
A breakthrough season for her local side saw Khamis scouted by the NSW Institute of Sport where she spent six seasons before transitioning into the national competition, the Westfield W-League, in 2008.
That same year, Khamis earned her first full international senior debut for Australia in July in a match against China in Bejing.
On her return to Sydney, Khamis’ selection in an international friendly against New Zealand then saw her first goal for Australia.
Khamis was snapped up by Sydney FC in the inaugural season of the competition and made a name for herself at the club, after quickly demonstrating her ability to steamroll any oppositions defence and having a true eye for goal.
It didn’t take long for Khamis then to cement herself as one of the Sky Blues’ leading ladies, taking out the golden boot in the club’s first season building on her fantastic performances for the national team earlier that year.
Interestingly enough, in each match that Khamis has scored for the West eld Matildas, Australia has gone on to win the match, proving how vital Khamis has been beyond her impact on the scoresheet.
From 2008, Khamis performances in the domestic competition continued to flourish and not dwindle, earning her first move overseas during the off-season.
The prolific striker had the opportunity to ply her trade in Denmark, where she was able to broaden her football horizons.
Khamis had two separate stints at Danish side Fortune Hjorring and even made her debut in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
During that period, she was also named in a number of national team selections, Khamis came home as a Champion from the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship in 2004, AFF Women’s Championship in 2008 and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2010.
The experienced striker then continued her shifts in the Westfield W-League and was a consistent performer for the Sky Blues before she fell to injury prior to the start of the 2012/13 Westfield W-League season.
Despite doing her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) before the season kicked off, Khamis still made her presence known off the pitch at the club with head coach Alen Stajcic bringing Khamis into the coaching circle at Sydney.
Khamis was heavily involved as an assistant at Sydney that season and helped guide the squad to winning the Grand Final later that year.
Khamis’ return from injury was inspiring and no doubt motivated Sydney to finish second on the later, which saw them head overseas for the Club Championships in Japan where they took on the likes of Chelsea and Colo- Colo on the World Stage
2014 saw Khamis fall to injury once more, making her transition back into the coaching staff with Wanderers current head coach Dan Barrett assisting the squad in making the Finals series once again.
Her second return to football saw a more experienced and settled Khamis take to the pitch, leading the squad on and off the park.
Four seasons later and 39 goals under her belt, Khamis finally made the move to her hometown club, the Wanderers, this season and hasn’t looked back since.
The experienced striker has played a very important role at the Red & Black in creating a number of chances and filling the leadership slot that has been missing in the Wanderers’ front third for a number of seasons.
Yet to score her first goal for the club, if Friday’s the night Khamis gets onto the scoresheet it will no doubt mark another memorable moment in the striker’s extensive career.
Khamis’ impact on Australian football cannot be measured. Countless goals, appearances and inspiring fightbacks from injury have shaped one of Australia’s most prolific female strikers.
There are a whole generation of young girls that have grown up watching Khamis, no doubt inspired by her resilience and determination on and off the park.
And by no means is this the end for Khamis, but rather a new chapter with the Red & Black and we can’t wait to look back on what she’s achieved when she reaches her next milestone.
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Canberra United
Friday 7 December, 5:20pm
Spotless Stadium
