Catherine Jatta
{{Short description|Gambian footballer (born 2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name = Catherine Jatta
|image =
|full_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2001|11|21|df=y}}
|birth_place = Gambia
|height =
|position = Forward
|currentclub = Determine Girls
|clubnumber = 25
|years1 = 2019–2023
|clubs1 = Gambia Police Force
|caps1 =
|goals1 =
|years2 = 2023–
|clubs2 = Determine Girls
|caps2 =
|goals2 = 19
|nationalyears1 = 2018
|nationalteam1 = Gambia U17
|nationalcaps1 = 3
|nationalgoals1 = 1
|nationalyears2 = 2020
|nationalteam2 = Gambia U20
|nationalcaps2 = 2
|nationalgoals2 = 1
|nationalyears3 = 2021–
|nationalteam3 = Gambia
|nationalcaps3 = 11
|nationalgoals3 = 9
|medaltemplates =
|club-update =
|nationalteam-update = 18 February 2025
}}
Catherine Jatta (born 21 November 2001) is a Gambian footballer who plays as a forward for Liberian Women's First Division club Determine Girls and the Gambian national team.
Early life
Jatta began playing football at an early age while in nursery school, regularly playing with her brothers and other boys in the neighborhood.{{cite web |date=20 October 2021|title=Catherine Jatta: Gambia's fearless goal poacher ready to shine|url=https://www.cafonline.com/womens-football/news/catherine-jatta-gambia-s-fearless-goal-poacher-ready-to-shine/|website=cafonline.com|publisher=Confederation of African Football|access-date=18 February 2025}}
Club career
In July 2023, Liberian Determine Girls signed Jatta on loan from Gambian side Police FC.{{cite web |date=19 July 2023|title=Determine Girls of Liberia signs Catherine Jattafrom Police FC|url=https://www.voicegambia.com/2023/07/19/determine-girls-of-liberia-signs-catherine-jattafrom-police-fc/|website=voicegambia.com|access-date=18 February 2025}} She made headlines shortly after joining, scoring consistently. By the 7th round, she had already netted 10 goals, making her the league's second-highest scorer.{{cite web |date=23 November 2023|title=Determined Gambian Girls Spark Liberian League|url=https://standard.gm/determined-gambian-girls-spark-liberian-league/|website=standard.gm|access-date=18 February 2025}} She eventually helped the club win the league, finishing the season with 19 goals.{{cite web |date=15 April 2024|title=Gambian trio win Liberian League title with Determine Girls FC|url=https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/sports/gambian-trio-win-liberian-league-title-with-determine-girls-fc|website=thepoint.gm|access-date=18 February 2025}}
International career
Jatta advanced through Gambia's youth national teams, representing the U-17 and U-20 sides in the 2018 and 2020 World Cup qualifiers, respectively, and scoring in both campaigns.{{cite web |date=16 October 2017|title=U-17 Female Baby Scorpions Wallop Sierra Leone 3-0|url=https://gambiaff.org/u-17-female-baby-scorpions-wallop-sierra-leone-3-0/|website=gambiaff.org|publisher=Gambian Football Federation|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite web |date=19 January 2020|title=Burkina Faso 3-2 Gambia (FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers)|url=https://gambiaff.org/burkina-faso-3-2-gambia-fifa-u-20-womens-world-cup-qualifiers/|website=gambiaff.org|publisher=Gambian Football Federation|access-date=18 February 2025}}
In October 2021, she received her first call-up to the senior team for the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Sierra Leone. On 18 October 2021, she made her senior debut as a starter in a 2–0 victory against Sierra Leone.{{cite web |last=Marenah |first=Sainey|date=18 October 2021|title=Queen Scorpions Beat Sierra Leone 2 – 0 In AWCON Qualifiers|url=https://alkambatimes.com/queen-scorpions-beat-sierra-leone-2-0-in-awcon-qualifiers/|website=alkambatimes.com|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite web |date=18 October 2021|title=Start List for the Queen Scorpions against Sierra Leone|url=https://www.facebook.com/GambiaFootballFederation/posts/3931550220279124?ref=embed_post|via=Facebook|publisher=Gambian Football Federation|access-date=18 February 2025}} On February 23, 2022, she scored her first international goal in a 2–1 defeat to Cameroon in the second round.{{cite web |last=Badgie|first=Famara |date=24 February 2022|title=Cameroon dumps Gambia in AWCON qualifier|url=https://www.grts.gm/news-article-details/sports/cameroon-dumps-gambia-in-awcon-qualifier|website=grts.gm|access-date=19 February 2025|quote=And all that the host could manage as a way of response was a brilliant free kick curled into Cameroon's net from 19yards out by Catherine Jatta}}
In January 2023, she was named to Gambia’s squad for the 2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup, emerging as the team's standout performer. She scored in every match, including a mega hat-trick against Sierra Leone and the winning goal against Guinea, helping Gambia secure the bronze medal.{{cite web |date=23 January 2023|title=Catherine Jatta inspired Gambia to comfortable victory over Sierra Leone|url=https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/sports/catherine-jatta-inspired-gambia-to-comfortable-victory-over-sierra-leone|website=thepoint.gm|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite web |last=Gibba|first=Lamin|date=26 January 2023|title=Gambia: Queen Scorpions Slap Guinea to Reach WAFU Semis|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/202301270139.html|website=allafrica.com|access-date=19 February 2025|quote=with Gambia Police FC forward Catherine Jatta scoring the game's only goal}}
Career statistics
=International=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="5" |Gambia
|2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 7 | 7 | |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | |
| colspan="2" |Total | 11 | 9 |
:Scores and results list The Gambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jatta goal.
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Catherine Jatta |
| scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |
|---|
| align="center"|1
|23 February 2022 |Independence Stadium, Bakau, Gambia |{{fbw|CMR}} |align="center"|1–2 |align="center"|1–2 |
| align="center"|2
|7 April 2022 |Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco |{{fbw|MAR}} |align="center"|1–5 |align="center"|1–6 |
| align="center"|3
|rowspan=4|21 January 2023 |rowspan=7|Estádio Marcelo Leitão, Espargos, Cape Verde |rowspan=4|{{fbw|SLE}} |align="center"|1–0 |rowspan=4 align="center"|4–0 |rowspan=7|2023 WAFU Zone A Women's Cup |
| align="center"|4
|align="center"|2–0 |
| align="center"|5
|align="center"|3–0 |
| align="center"|6
|align="center"|4–0 |
| align="center"|7
|23 January 2023 |{{fbw|SEN}} |align="center"|1–1 |align="center"|1–4 |
| align="center"|8
|25 January 2023 |{{fbw|GUI}} |align="center"|1–0 |align="center"|1–0 |
| align="center"|9
|27 January 2023 |{{fbw|CPV}} |align="center"|1–1 |align="center"|1–2 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{GSA player|cathrine-jatta/533466}}
- {{Flashscore.com player|jatta-catherine/U1N2Hdmh}}
- [https://www.liberiafa-lr.com/player/cathrine-jatta/ Catherine Jatta] at Liberia Football Association website
- [https://www.soccerdonna.de/en/cathrine-jatta/profil/spieler_72085.html Catherine Jatta] at Soccerdonna.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jatta, Catherine}}
Category:Gambian women's footballers