Player Biography
The goalkeeper joined the Gers as a free agent in July 2026, having most recently featured for Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the top flight of her home country of Japan.
Born in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, the 24-year-old began playing football at eight, attending Fukushima Prefectural Futaba Future Senior High School before featuring for JFA Academy Fukushima during her youth career.
She started studying in the United States, as she played college football for a year with East Tennessee State Buccaneers, featuring for the team on 16 occasions overall. Her performances earned her the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honours, as well as a spot on the All-Conference first team.
During that year, Ohba was named Southern Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year, once again making the All-Conference first team squad before transferring to the University of Mississippi, playing 15 times for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Her professional football career then began back in her home country of Japan in 2025, as she signed for Tokyo Verdy Beleza on September 5.
They feature in the top flight over in Asia, and most recently came third in the WE League table last season.
A full Japanese international, Ohba first represented her nation at Under-16s level and was part of their third-place finish at the 2017 AFC Women’s Championship, which subsequently led to her playing in the FIFA Under-17s World Cup, for which she made the final squad.
She then featured for her country at further youth levels, at the 2019 AFC Under-19s Women’s Championships, which they would go on to win and in the 2022 FIFA Under-20s World Cup. Starting all four of their matches in a second-place finish.
Her first call-up for the senior national team was during the 2022 Asian Games and also further down the line at the 2024 SheBelieves Cup held in the USA. Ohba then earned her first minutes for Japan in a friendly outing against New Zealand in May 2024, and was also named an alternate for the Olympic Games two years ago.
She made the move over to Scotland and strengthened Leanne Crichton’s goalkeeping department ahead of the competitive action returning, taking the number 18 jersey.
