Alivia Kelly

DOB 7/12/01

Alivia Kelly joined the Wellington Phoenix four rounds into the 2024-25 Ninja A-League as a replacement for Algeria international Imane Chebel.

The Boston native has “always been a defender” and had a decorated college career at the University of New Hampshire before doing her post-graduate studies at North Carolina State University.

Kelly started all 60 matches for the New Hampshire Wildcats over four years and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience and behaviour.

Phoenix head coach Paul Temple is delighted to have secured a player of Kelly’s calibre.

“As soon as it became evident we needed to bring in a new visa centre back we went through a pretty comprehensive list of available players, and Alivia really shone out on a number of levels,” Temple said.

“I think she is a player who will do very well in the A-League.

“She has good athletic and physical qualities to handle the nature of the league but has also got good ability on the ball to help the team in its style of play.”

> 2023-24 season

Alivia Kelly joined the NC State Wolfpack in 2024 and played in the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference.

She featured in all 15 of their matches, starting four of them.

Kelly hopes to bring defensive grit to the Phoenix.

“I love being a defender” she said. “You don’t get anything shiny or special, and you have to have some intrinsic motivation to keep going because defending is hard and not everyone likes to do it.

“As a player I’m very competitive. I like to give it everything that I’ve got and that usually shines through in my performances.

“I also like to be a playmaker and be involved on the ball even though I’m a defender.”