Sari Kees

Sari Kees (; born 17 February 2001) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Vrouwen Eredivisie club Ajax and the Belgium national team.

Club career Kees started her youth career as a goalkeeper at SP Budingen. At age 10, she joined OH Leuven, and further developed as a central defender throughout their youth teams for the next eight seasons.

On 12 June 2019, it was announced that Kees joined Racing Genk for one season, becoming a team regular there.

Kees returned to OH Leuven again in April 2020, scoring the winning goal in their 1–0 win against defending champions Anderlecht in March 2022. Leuven ended in second place behind Anderlecht for three straight seasons, from 2020–21 to 2022–23, and in 2023-24 won the regular season only to be overhauled in the title play-offs

Kees stated that her ambitions for the coming years are becoming a full-time member of the national team, and earning a transfer to a foreign club, which came true when she signed for OHL's sister club Leicester City in July 2024.

On 28 July 2026, Kees joined Vrouwen Eredivisie club Ajax on a contract until June 2029.

International career Kees is a member of the national team since the under-15s. As a central defender, she played for the under-19s in the UEFA U19 Championship in 2019 in their group matches against Spain, Germany and England.

Kees made her debut for the Belgium national team on 16 February 2022, in a 4–0 win against Slovakia in the Pinatar Cup in Spain.

Kees was named in the Belgium squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2022 in England, where the Red Flames were beaten in the quarter-finals 1–0 by Sweden. She went on to contribute to Belgium's successful qualification for UEFA Women's Euro 2025 via the play-offs, starting both legs of the play-off final against Ukraine.

On 11 June 2025, Kees was called up to the Belgium squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025.

Career statistics

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 6 September 2022 Yerevan Football Academy Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia 7–0 7–0 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification 2. 13 November 2022 Joseph Marien Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 1–0 7–0 Friendly 3. 23 February 2024 Pancho Aréna, Felcsút, Hungary 1–1 5–1 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League play-offs 4. 5–1 5. 9 April 2024 Viborg Stadium, Viborg, Denmark 1–4 2–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying 6. 14 April 2026 Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland 1–0 1–1 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification

Honours Belgium Pinatar Cup: 2022