Goalkeeper Jessica Williams signs contract with Copenhagen in Denmark
South African goalkeeper Jessica Williams signed a one-year contract with the women’s team Copenhagen, which competes in Denmark’s top division, in early September 2026. The 26-year-old South Africa international will continue her career in Copenhagen, Daily Maverick reports.
Opportunity with the South African national team
Williams said she aims to develop in Denmark as a footballer and as a person. She represented South Africa at U20 level and was also part of the national team squad at the 2019 World Cup. She made a notable impact in the senior national team at the 2024 COSAFA Championship.
South Africa reached the final then, where it lost to Zambia in a penalty shootout. Williams received the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper. In the match against Eswatini, which ended in a 3-0 victory for South Africa, she scored directly from a free kick from approximately the halfway line.
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Switch to the goalkeeper position
The footballer said that she began playing football with boys at school and initially played outfield. After a serious injury, she had to reassess her options, as she was no longer the same player in midfield. South Africa national team coach Desiree Ellis advised her to try herself as a goalkeeper. Williams switched to goalkeeping around 2017.
Williams signed with Copenhagen after a two-week trial. The club’s head of women’s football, Romani Pinnock, who worked with Williams at Badgers Football Academy in Cape Town, said that the goalkeeper was one of the main candidates when the Danish club needed another goalkeeper.
Pinnock also noted that Copenhagen’s women’s team has existed relatively recently: two seasons ago, it played in the third division, and it now competes in Denmark’s top league. Williams and Pinnock emphasize the need to create a fully professional women’s football league in South Africa, as some players combine football with full-time work.
