Saelua made her debut for the American Samoa national team as a raw 15-year-old during qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, appearing as a first-half substitute in an 11-0 defeat to Fiji. She then made a further 3 substitute appearances in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, as well as 4 substitute appearances at the 2011 Pacific Games. With the arrival of coach Thomas Rongen in 2011, Saelua was given extended game time, and she made her first start for the team as they achieved their first-ever international win against Tonga during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Until this point, American Samoa had been outscored 229-12 in all the international matches it had played, and were joint-last in the FIFA World Rankings. Saelua provided an assist and made a last-minute goalline clearance to help her team to the narrow 2-1 win, and she was declared "woman of the match" by her coach. She was later sent a letter by FIFA presidentSepp Blatter, recognising her achievements as the first openly transgender footballer to appear in a World Cup qualifying match. The team followed up the win against Tonga with a 1-1 draw with the Cook Islands. Needing only a win in their last game against bitter rivals Samoa to progress to the next stage of qualification, the team fell agonisingly short, hitting the post in the dying minutes before a last-gasp Samoa goal eliminated them from the tournament. American Samoa's efforts to qualify for the 2014 World Cup are chronicled in the 2014 British Documentary Film Next Goal Wins, in which Saelua plays an integral part. The film also documents the team's 2011 Pacific Games campaign. Although intending to continue playing for the national team, Saelua was left out of the squad for qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. This was in part because she was undergoing her medical transition from male to female at the time. Saelua considered the possibility of playing for the American Samoa women's team after she had medically transitioned. Saelua was recalled to the men's national squad for the 2019 Pacific Games, joining veteran goalkeeper Nicky Salapu. The team was managed by returning coach Tunoa Lui, who had previously presided over American Samoa's world-record 31-0 loss to Australia in 2001. In their first match, the team were praised for performing better than expected in a 5-0 loss to one of the pre-tournament favourites New Caledonia, and Saelua was praised for her defensive performance. Saelua was also commended for her role in earning the team a 1-1 draw with Tuvalu. She received a yellow card during the match. This was the first game American Samoa had not lost at the tournament in 36 years.
Managerial Career
Saelua coached the American Samoan boys football team Leone Lions during the 2018-2019 Boys ASHSAA season. She led the team to the 2018-2019 ASHSAA Boys J-V title, for which she received the "Coach of the Year Award" from the FFAS.
Style of Play
Saelua insists on playing in full make-up whenever she takes to the football field. She is known for her crunching tackles and is described as a defender who "takes no prisoners".
Other Football-Related Activities
Since becoming the first transgender player to play in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, Saelua has become a FIFA ambassador for equality and LGBT athletes. She was also appointed to the jury of the FIFA Diversity Award. Saelua has also trained as a referee, and has helped referee matches in her American Samoan homeland.
Personal Life
Saelua began her gender transition before the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers in 2015. She has continued to play football after her transition, including at the 2019 Pacific Games.
Saelua is featured in two films: firstly in the highly-rated 2014 British documentary filmNext Goal Wins, which documents her American Samoan football team's attempts to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and first international win, and secondly in the upcoming Hollywood comedy-drama re-make of Next Goal Wins directed by Taika Waititi. The re-make is expected to be released in late 2020. Waititi considered casting Saelua in his adaptation of the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins, which she had previously starred in, but he ultimately choose fellow Samoan fa'afafine Kaimana to play the role. Saelua is mentioned in the book Thirty-One Nil: On the Road With Football's Outsiders. She is also mentioned in the children's bookFootball School Star Players: 50 Inspiring Stories of True Football Heroes.
