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Loradana Paletta may just be 14-years-old, but she’s beyond experienced when it comes to turning heads on the soccer field. When she’s not breaking ankles with her quick feet and ability to accelerate and decelerate on a dime, she’s making ground-breaking moves off the field.
On Thursday, Paletta became first NIL partner for Italian sportswear brand LOTTO. The middle schooler out of Syosset, New York began playing soccer when she was 4, and now, 10-years-later, she’s not only a standout member of the U.S. Youth National Under-16 team, but also plays for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) Boys Under-14 Academy team.
Paletta is confident, but let’s her game speak for itself. She’s humble and soft spoken, yet when you see her on the field she’s the pulse that operates the game’s flow and her team’s tempo. Partnering with LOTTO was an opportunity for Paletta to invest in her journey to become "a pro."
She says soccer is her why and "will be something I want to do forever."
Ahead of the deal with LOTTO, Paletta did one of her first media interviews with INDIVISA to share her journey. She’s humble, but also proud. When asked how she first got introduced to soccer, she said it was trying to prove herself against her brothers.
"My older brothers are a really big part of my journey – I always wanted to beat them in everything," Paletta said. "I always wanted to be better than them, they drove my passion."
She also mentioned her dad, who was her first coach and continues to be the voice of reason.
"My dad is one of the biggest supporters." she said. "He’s been a coach since I was little. I wouldn’t be here without him. He’s taught me all the things I know really; he’s really pushed me to my limits."
Loradana Paletta may just be 14-years-old, but she’s beyond experienced when it comes to turning heads on the soccer field. When she’s not breaking ankles with her quick feet and ability to accelerate and decelerate on a dime, she’s making ground-breaking moves off the field.
On Thursday, Paletta became first NIL partner for Italian sportswear brand LOTTO. The middle schooler out of Syosset, New York began playing soccer when she was 4, and now, 10-years-later, she’s not only a standout member of the U.S. Youth National Under-16 team, but also plays for the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) Boys Under-14 Academy team.
Paletta is confident, but let’s her game speak for itself. She’s humble and soft spoken, yet when you see her on the field she’s the pulse that operates the game’s flow and her team’s tempo. Partnering with LOTTO was an opportunity for Paletta to invest in her journey to become “a pro.”
She says soccer is her why and “will be something I want to do forever.”
Ahead of the deal with LOTTO, Paletta did one of her first media interviews with INDIVISA to share her journey. She’s humble, but also proud. When asked how she first got introduced to soccer, she said it was trying to prove herself against her brothers.
“My older brothers are a really big part of my journey – I always wanted to beat them in everything,” Paletta said. “I always wanted to be better than them, they drove my passion.”
She also mentioned her dad, who was her first coach and continues to be the voice of reason.
“My dad is one of the biggest supporters.” she said. “He’s been a coach since I was little. I wouldn’t be here without him. He’s taught me all the things I know really; he’s really pushed me to my limits.”
Paletta played outside back one time, but other than that has been a midfielder for her teams. She identifies most with being a six, and says out of all the players on the U.S. women’s national team, her playing style is closest to that of Sam Coffey. In order to be the playmaker in that position, control the rhythm of the game and be the connector to each line, having the right cleat is essential.
The feeling of a cleat has to be right, and for Paletta says LOTTO’s Solista and Stadio cleats are her choice.
“They feel really light on my foot and I feel sharper,” she said. “I like the laceless ones too, because it feels like it’s tight on my foot which is good for me moving in the middle.”
Laceless cleats in a pink and blue color way also scream a player who likes to be on the ball. Asked how she would describe her game, Paletta said “Calm, collected and a leader. I like to be on the ball and I like to control the game.”
No matter if that’s with the boys at NYCFC or older girls at the USYNT level, Paletta sticks to her game.
“The [game] is definitely a lot more physical,” Paletta said, describing the differences between playing with boys her age and older girls. “I have to play faster and think a step ahead and playing with the boys.
“I feel a bit more comfortable playing, dribbling more, and like I have more time.”
She’s determined to play with on the boys team for as long as she can, but is aware that some physical changes are going to make it challenging at some point.
“I’m going to strive to stay with the boys as long as I can,” she sayd, “because I know that’s going to make me better as a player.”
Though NIL deals have become increasingly common in college sports since policy changes in 2021, this agreement represents a new frontier – one in which youth athletes are now beginning to harness their personal brands even before high school, starts.
“It means a lot to be their first,” she said. “It’s a big thing to take in, to carry, but it means I’m doing it with them. I feel really comfortable and confident.”
Paletta is used to being the first, but it doesn’t get old – in fact she became the first girl since 2022 to sign with a MLS Next team. She’s had to make quite a few decisions before even entering high school, but with every choice she thinks about her biggest goal for the future; becoming a pro.
“In the short-term, I want to be in the Under-17 Women’s World Cup coming up,” she says, “and then long-term, the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
When asked about playing college soccer, Paletta giggled and said, “Sometimes I think about it, ‘Should I go to college Should I not?’ Then I realize, I haven’t even been to high school yet!”
Whatever the choice, the constant in all of this for Paletta is the same: soccer.
“I want to lead with my skill and lift it with purpose,” she said. “If I go to a team and they are somewhat OK, but I go there and I make them better, then i’m not just making myself better, but the team around me, too.”
Paletta continues to change the narrative of youth sports, in this latest case by becoming the latest NIL athlete for a major brand. And she says the passion is the most important thing: “I just know that this is what I want to do forever in my life.”
