Sandy, Utah (Friday, January 4, 2019) — Utah Royals FC announced Friday that the club has signed Spanish Women’s National Team veteran MF Veronica Boquete. Her attacking prowess will be essential to Utah Royals FC in the club’s second season as Head Coach Laura Harvey builds a roster capable of withstanding departures for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I wanted a new challenge in an ambitious club. There is nothing better than Utah Royals FC and the NWSL,” Boquete said. “I am happy to be back in the U.S. and I am grateful for the trust of Utah Royals FC. I can’t wait to start the season and fight for our goals. Great club, team, fantastic fans, and a world class coach. I am looking forward to meeting my teammates and to work with Laura.”
Boquete moves from Beijing BG Phoenix and is starting her fourth stint in the U.S., previously playing for the Chicago Red Stars in the WPSL (2010), the Philadelphia Independence in WPS (2011-12) where she earned WPS Player of the Year honors in 2011, and in 2014 with the Portland Thorns in NWSL. In between, she starred for RCD Español de Barcelona, winning the Golden Boot with 41 goals in 29 matches in 2010-11; FC Energiya Voronezh in Russia; Tyresö FF in Sweden; FFC Frankfurt and Bayern Munich in Germany; and Paris Saint-Germain in France.
“We are really happy to bring Vero to Utah. She is a proven talent that knows what it takes to play in the NWSL,” Harvey said. “Her commitment to wanting the best is unbelievable and once we started speaking about the possibility of bringing her to the club, that level of professionalism shined through. Vero is a player I have admired for a number of years and I am glad we can finally work together. She is a proven goal-scorer, play-maker, and can play anywhere in the midfield or the frontline.”
A winner at every level, Boquete touts championships in Spain (2009, 2010), Sweden (2012) and Germany (2015-16), as well as the UEFA Women’s Championship with FFC Frankfurt in 2014-15. On the international level, she served as captain for Spain in the 2013 UEFA Women’s European Championship and in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada and won the 2017 Algarve Cup, in addition to the 2004 UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship.
URFC is entering its second season in NWSL, having finished the inaugural campaign fifth in the league, just two points removed from a playoff berth. Rio Tinto Stadium boasted the league’s second-highest attendance during the season, with an average attendance of 9,466 per game.
Player Information
Player: Veronica Boquete
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-foot-4
Date of Birth: April 9, 1987
Hometown: Santiago de Compostela, Galicia
Previous Club: Beijing BG Phoenix
Season tickets for the 2019 Utah Royals FC season are now on sale via www.RSL.com/NWSL or 844.Real.Tix. The full 2019 NWSL schedule is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.
