Jacynta Galabadaarachchi does not exactly roll off the tongue but West Ham’s new teenage star hopes her name will be on everyone’s lips in the FA WSL this season.

The 18-year-old Australian has moved halfway across the world from Perth Glory this summer to realise her dream of playing in England, and she is determined to get people talking about her – even if fans are struggling say her name.

“No one can pronounce it, it happens everywhere!” says Galabadaarachchi (pronounced Gala-bada-ar-achi). “But it is hard... it is 16 letters so what do you expect!

“My dad is Sri Lankan so my last name is from his side. They cannot actually fit it on the back of my jersey. When I signed here at West Ham they put it on a larger shirt but with my playing kit it will not fit on so they are having to just put my first name. I do not think the fans can pronounce my last name, I understand it is difficult so they can just call me Jacynta.”

A quick, technical forward who likes to run at opposition defences, she hopes to make an immediate impression when West Ham kick off the new WSL season away at Arsenal on Sunday.

Jacynta always played with boys when she was younger but when she was 14, authorities in Victoria tried to stop her playing for an Under-15s boys’ team.

“They made a rule that girls had to play with girls,” she says. “I wanted to play with boys’ teams because I thought I was good enough. Me and my mum argued it was not fair. They ended up letting me play and I was the only girl playing in the boys’ league that year.

“The boys at the start were, not intimidated, but they did not really trust you and did not know if you are going to be good. After the first session they changed their mind. You nutmeg them a couple of times, tackle them and then they are fine after that!

“Playing with boys makes you more aggressive, makes you think faster and in England, the game is a lot faster and more aggressive, so it has helped me adapt to the game here quicker.”

As a child, Jacynta had trials at Manchester United, Manchester City and Everton but she could not get international clearance to move to England. That changed when she turned 18 earlier this year and she acquired an Italian passport through her grandparents.

West Ham swooped to sign her as they bid to build on their success of reaching the FA Cup Final last season.

“The football here is faster than Australia, more aggressive and the tempo is higher. I play a very South American type of style, which is different. But it is going to help me improve as a player because it is a lot of running, a lot of speed, a lot of aggression and those are all things I want to get better at.

“Sunday is going to be exciting. It is a tough game to start off with but we have the capabilities to win. We have a lot of new signings and we have the potential to go really far.”

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