Esra Manya

Esra Manya — Biography

Esra Manya is a midfielder in the Women's Super League squad of Beşiktaş. Born and raised in Turkey, she holds both Turkish and Azerbaijani citizenship, and her international career is split between the two: she represented Turkey at youth level and plays for Azerbaijan in the senior team.

She started in football at her hometown club 1207 Antalyaspor, signing on 21 May 2013 and taking the field in the Second League in 2013-14. The team won the league in 2014-15 and was promoted to the First League. In the middle of the 2019-20 season she moved to Hakkarigücü, played three matches there, and returned to Antalya the following season. In 2022-23 she transferred to Beşiktaş and reached the top flight.

Her national-team path began early. She made her under-17 debut against Portugal in the UEFA Development Tournament on 12 May 2014 and went on to 17 caps and one goal at that level, and she also played in the 2015 and 2016 European Championship qualifiers. With the under-19s she debuted on 9 June 2016 against Slovenia in a tournament her side went on to win, and she featured in the 2017 and 2018 European Championship qualifying groups. At senior level she has played for Azerbaijan in the 2023-24 UEFA Women's Nations League C, Group 3, and in qualifying for the 2025 European Championship.