Shin Na-yeong (; born 9 October 1999) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a defender for USL Super League club Lexington SC and the South Korea national team.
Early life.
Shin was born in Chilgok County and became interested in football in elementary school. Despite her parents' initial objections, in the sixth grade of elementary school she left her family home and stayed with a relative in Daegu in order to attend Hwawon Elementary School, a school with a girls' football team.
Youth career.
While attending Pohang Hangdo Middle School, Shin was part of the team that won the 14th Unification National Women's Football Tournament, where she was also honoured with the 'Fair Play' award. She continued to play football at Chungju Yesung Girls' High School, helping take her team to the final of both the 2015 Spring KWFF Tournament and semi-final of the high school girls' football tournament at the 96th National Sports Festival. She went on to play for Daeduk College, who won two national championships and a bronze medal at the National Sports Festival in 2018. They finished as runners-up in the 2019 Spring KWFF Tournament, where Shin won the 'Best Defender' award. In the 2019 Autumn KWFF Tournament, Daeduk again finished as runners-up, and Shin was named the MVP.
Club career.
At the 2020 WK League new players' draft, Shin was signed by Seoul City Amazones on a one-year contract. She then played for Changnyeong WFC for two seasons before transferring to Hwacheon KSPO in 2023. In July 2024 she became the third Korean footballer to play in the US, signing a contract with Lexington SC.
International career.
In 2017, while still at high school, Shin was named in the South Korea U-19 squad for the 2017 AFC U-19 Women's Championship in Nanjing. She also represented South Korea at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy. Shin received her first senior call-up for the 2025 Pink Ladies' Cup in the United Arab Emirates.