Karen Andrea Araya Ponce is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for FC Nantes in France’s Arkema Première Ligue and for the Chile national team.
As a child, she played all kinds of sports with her brothers – from basketball and volleyball to football.
She was so talented that her brother’s friends once stopped letting her join their football games – not because she was a girl, but because she was too good for them.
Her younger brother, Bernardo Araya, is a professional futsal player who captains the Chilean national futsal team.
In addition to 11-a-side football, she has also represented Chile in futsal, playing at the 2015 Copa América Femenina de Futsal.
She scored Chile’s first-ever goal in an Olympic women’s football tournament, converting a penalty against Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Games (held in 2021).
Fans nicknamed her “Motorcito” (“little motor”) for her tireless engine in midfield.
She didn’t receive a pro salary until age 27. In 2018 she joined Brazil’s Audax, her first paid contract – roughly “1% of what male players earn” at the time.
| Nike |
| Chilean Primera División | 8× |
| Copa Libertadores Femenina | 1× |
| 2023 Pan American Games silver medal | 1× |
| Year | Club | AP | GL |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2025
-
present
|
FC Nantes | 1 | 0 |
|
2022
-
2025
|
Madrid CFF | 81 | 11 |
|
2022
-
|
Sevilla | 16 | 1 |
|
2019
-
2021
|
Santiago Morning | ||
|
2018
-
2019
|
Sevilla | 27 | 2 |
|
2018
-
|
Osasco Audax | 7 | 1 |
|
2016
-
2017
|
Colo-Colo | ||
|
2013
-
2016
|
Santiago Morning | ||
|
2010
-
2012
|
Colo-Colo | ||
| International Stats | |||
|
2006
-
present
|
Chile | 103 | 19 |
|
2008
-
|
Chile U20 | 3 | 0 |
