Eritrean legend’s granddaughter: The story of Lily Yohannes, who signed with the famous Ajax Amsterdam’s women club

Michael Sium

Eritrean-American Lily Yohannes, the daughter of Daniel Yohannes and Semhar Bokretsion and the granddaughter of the legendary Bokretsion Gebrehiwot, signed her first contract with the Ajax Women this week. Lily was born on June 12, 2007, in Springfield, Virginia. She has two siblings, one of whom, Ethen Yohannes, plays for Wake Forest University and the US Under 15-17 national team. The young lady has been playing in the Ajax Women’s Talent Team since this past season. The offensive midfield playmaker had been part of Ajax’s Talent Academy for several years while still playing for a WV-HEDW boys’ team in Amsterdam. In 17 league games, she has scored four times and has six assists as she makes headlines in women’s football/soccer. Lily now represents the US national team, but who knows, maybe her chances of representing Eritrea could be wide open in the future.

The contract agreement between Lily and Ajax is a 3-year contract that runs until June 30, 2026. Lily is an amazing talent and inspires many as she becomes a successful athlete and young lady. Eri-internationalsports.org congratulates her and her entire family on this huge development. Meanwhile, where did Lily and her siblings get their genes? Here is a short story about her proud Eritrean grandfather, which has left a huge legacy for Eritreans and Americans. The legendary Bokretsion Gebrehiwot was a big part of the Dallas, Texas, Eritrean community.

In the 1968 African nations cup, out of the many Eritreans on the Ethiopian national team, including the great Ambassador Girma Asmerom and many others, legendary Bokretsion Gebrehiwot will go down in history as one of Africa’s best. His goal vs. legendary Laurent Poku and the Ivory Coast in the 86th minute from the defensive position always remains in many people’s hearts. As if that was not enough, the great Bokre, as he was known, helped his club team Hammasien FC win many championships. After leaving Eritrea and the horn of Africa to come to the United States, he also left a huge legacy for many of us Eritreans. Him and the many other legendary Eritrean players created the Eritrean Sports Festival in North America. Bokre was also known to be an ardent Eritrean nationalist who supported Eritrea’s struggle for independence by contributing in many different ways. For more on Bokre you can see a short life story that was produced by Eri-tv this past year.