Caicedo began playing her senior club career in 2019, when she debuted for Colombian clubAmérica de Cali at the age of 14.[4] She played a key role in América's historic victory, helping the club secure its first league title. In early 2020, she moved toDeportivo Cali where she won another Colombian league title in2021. This achievement qualified Cali for the2021 Copa Libertadores Femenina. Despite only making the quarterfinals, Caicedo finished the tournament as joint-top scorer and made the tournament's Best XI. In 2023, after years of speculation about her next club move, she signed for Real Madrid in Spain's Liga F. In her first season at the club, she helped Madrid reach their first major cup final at the2022–23 Copa de la Reina.
In addition to her accomplishments at the club level, Caicedo has also found international success at both the youth and senior levels. In July 2022, Caicedo featured in her firstCopa America tournament with Colombia'ssenior team, where she scored the game-winning goal againstArgentina in the semi-finals to help her team qualify for theCopa America final. After finishing as runner-up with Colombia's senior team in the Copa America, Caicedo competed withColombia's U-20s at the2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup in August, where they reached the quarterfinals. In October of the same year, Caicedo helpedColombia's U-17 side to a second-place finish at theU-17 World Cup. She scored 4 goals and was Colombia's top scorer as they finished as runners-up behindSpain. She later competed in the2023 FIFA World Cup, and scored two goals in the group stage—one againstSouth Korea, and the opener againstGermany, a match that Colombia won to pull off one of the greatest upsets inWomen's World Cup history.
Caicedo has won multiple individual awards throughout her career, including the Golden Ball at the 2022 Copa America Femenina, and Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at the2022 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Caicedo was born inCandelaria,Valle del Cauca,Colombia to parents Herlinda Alegría and Mauricio Caicedo.[5] At the age of five, she enrolled in Real Juanchito FC, a boys-only youth football academy.[6] At an early age, she was singled out for her excellent dribbling and shooting abilities. Caicedo's mother Herlinda recounts when Caicedo was a young girl, where she would kick kitchen utensils and dolls around the house because she was only interested in playing football.[7]
As she advanced to the higher levels of Real Juanchito, Caicedo met the man that would later become her mentor, club president Rafael Murillo.[7] At the age of 10, Caicedo entered her first women's club, Generaciones Palmiranas.[6] Here, she metFabián Taborda, the coach of Colombia's senior women's team.[6] A year later, Caicedo began playing for CD Atlas C.P., a team based inCali and created by Colombian internationalCarolina Pineda that is known to foster the talents of young Colombian footballers. From 2017 to 2019, Caicedo won three Torneos Nacionales (national tournaments for regional youth clubs) at the U13 level with Atlas.[6][8] These accomplishments with her youth teams started attracting the attention of Colombia's biggest women's clubs.[6]
In 2019, Carolina Pineda convinced Marcela Gómez, the president ofAmérica de Cali, to sign Caicedo.[6] On 15 July 2019, at the age of 14, she made her professional debut withAmérica againstCortuluá. She scored her first goal for the club on her debut, which ended up being the match winner for the team.[6] Caicedo finished the2019 Colombian Women's Football League as the league's top scorer with 7 goals in 7 matches.[6][9] On 30 September 2019, in the second leg of the 2019 league finals, Caicedo scored the tie-winning goal againstIndependiente Medellín to bring the final aggregate score to 3-2 and win América their first ever league title.[10][11] América qualified for the2019 Copa Libertadores Femenina by featuring in the league finals, but 14-year-old Caicedo was unable to participate, as the minimum age for participation is 16 years of age.
At the end of Caicedo's contract with América, they were unable to come to an agreement due to Caicedo's salary demands.[12][13] The club confirmed her departure on 30 January 2020, making her a free agent.[12]
On 4 February 2020, Caicedo's move to América's cross-city rivalsDeportivo Cali was made official with a year-long contract.[14][15] Due to complications ofovarian cancer, Caicedo was unable to play football for six months. She resumed training days after she finished her last round ofchemotherapy treatment.[16]
Caicedo made her debut with Cali on 20 October 2020, against Junior in their first match of the2020 Colombian Women's Football League.[17][18] Her first goal for her new club was also the only goal she scored in the group stages, in a 3–0 win against her former club, América.[19][20] Deportivo Cali finished first in their group and advanced to the knockout round, where they facedMillonarios in the quarterfinals. She scored the game-winning goal of the first leg that finished 2–1 in Cali's favor, and then scored Cali's only goal in the second leg of the tie.[21] However, Millonarios scored 3 goals in the second leg to defeat Cali with an aggregate score of 4–3, knocking them out of the tournament.[22]
In the2021 league tournament, Caicedo opened up her scoring with abrace againstAtletico Bucamaranga in the group stage of the tournament.[23] Cali finished atop their group once more, and advanced to the final againstSanta Fe. Caicedo scored one goal against the team in the first leg of the final,[24][25] and in the second leg scored two goals to help Cali win the tie with an aggregate score of 6–3.[26][27] Deportivo Cali won the first league title of their history as Caicedo finished as the team's second-highest goalscorer of the tournament with 5 goals.
Cali reaching the final meant that they qualified for the2021 Copa Libertadores Femenina, Caicedo's first opportunity to play in a major continental club competition. She scored three goals in Cali's group stage matches, including a brace in an 8–0 thrashing of Bolivian clubReal Tomayapo[28] and one goal in a 4–1 win againstUniversidad de Chile.[29][30] Cali finished atop Group C and met Uruguayan clubNacional in the quarterfinals, but were defeated 1–2, with Caicedo scoring Cali's only goal.[31] Despite being knocked out in the quarterfinals, Caicedo finished the tournament as the joint-top scorer alongsideEsperanza Pizarro,Victória,Jheniffer, and Cali teammateTatiana Ariza, and was also named to the tournament's Best XI.[32][33]
The2022 Colombian league updated to around-robin tournament format, where Cali finished 3rd on the table and qualified for the knockout stage. In the first leg of the quarterfinals, Caicedo scored a goal againstMillonarios that would later prove to be essential to Cali's 3–2 aggregate victory.[34][35] In the semi-finals they met 2021 league final rivalsSanta Fe, and Caicedo scored against them once again in the first leg. The tie came to a draw in the second leg which forced the match topenalties, where Caicedo scored the tie-winning penalty to bring them to another Colombian league final.[36][37] In the final, she once again faced her former club América. She scored one goal in the second leg of the tie, but Cali were defeated 4–3 on aggregate by their rivals.[38]
The final against América would end up being her final match with Cali. Caicedo was unable to play domestically with Deportivo Cali, as theDIMAYOR had cancelled the second half (clausura) of the 2022 Colombian women's league due to a lack of participating teams.[39][40] She was additionally unable to compete with Cali at the2022 Copa Libertadores due to her participation at the2022 U-17 World Cup, with both tournaments taking place during the month of October.
2022 would be her final year with Deportivo Cali, and she became a free agent in December upon the expiration of her contract with the Colombian club.[41] In early 2023, Caicedo confirmed that she had her sights set on playing abroad once she turned 18 in February.[42] She was mainly rumored to join European and North American clubs, especiallyChelsea,Manchester City,Real Madrid, andBarcelona, where the latter club's presidentJoan Laporta confirmed in 2022 that they had been scouting her for three years.[42][43][44][45]
On 21 February 2023, Spanish media confirmed rumors that Caicedo had joined Real Madrid ahead of Chelsea or rivals Barcelona.[46] On 24 February 2023, after years of speculation around her next club,[47] she officially signed forReal Madrid of Spain'sLiga F with a three-year contract.[48][49] Caicedo debuted for Madrid againstAlhama CF on 4 March 2023.[50] She scored her first goal for the club on 9 March 2023, scoring in extra time of theCopa de la Reina quarterfinals to help bring Madrid to their second ever semi-final in the tournament.[51] She scored her first goal in the league in a 3–1 win againstLevante Las Planas.[52] Caicedo started the 2023 Copa de la Reina final against the club's rivalsAtlético Madrid, but was subbed out in the 82nd minute. Atlético tied the match deep into stoppage time, and Madrid were defeated on penalties.[53] In the league, she ended her season with two goals and four assists in 10 appearances.[54]
On 17 November 2023, Caicedo was awarded theGolden Girl award presented byTuttosport making her the best female under-21 footballer playing in Europe over the calendar year.[55][56]
In 2022, Caicedo was called up to play her first tournament with Colombia's senior national team, the2022 Copa América. She scored her first goal of the tournament in the group stage againstEcuador, which ended up being the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win.[58] Colombia advanced to the knockout rounds and eventually facedArgentina in the semi-final. She scored the only goal of the match and qualified Colombia for their third Copa America final.[59] Despite losing 1-0 toBrazil in the final, Caicedo was named the tournament's best player and was one of three Colombian players included in the Best XI.[60][61]
Caicedo attacking in her quarterfinal against Spain at the Olympics in 2024.
Caicedo was confirmed into Colombia's final squad for the2023 FIFA World Cup on 4 July 2023,[62] making her the first player in history to compete at three Women's World Cups (at the U-17, U-20, and senior levels) within a year.[7][63] At the Women's World Cup, Caicedo scored a goal in Colombia's opening match againstSouth Korea, which ended in a 2–0 victory.[64] This made her the second youngest player, at 18 years and 153 days, to score in a World Cup, behind Brazilian legendMarta.[5][16] She also became the first Colombian player to score in the U-17, U-20, and senior Women's World Cups.[65]
On 28 July, she collapsed during a training session at the World Cup, but was later reported to be "back to normal".[66] Two days later, on 30 July, she scored the first goal in the second Group H match againstGermany, with Colombia eventually winning 2–1 in one of the biggest Women's World Cup upsets of all time.[67][68] After scoring a goal in each of the two matches, her performances saw her voted as the Player of the Match in both games. Her first coachDiego Vásquez, told AFP that Caicedo is "one of these people who was touched by God, who was born for this."[69][70] Her goal against Germany was later nominated for theFIFA Puskás Award.[71]
Caicedo is an ambassador for Fundación Mi Sangre, a charity created by Colombian singerJuanes and civic leader Catalina Cock Duque to empower Colombian youth through leadership and entrepreneurial skills.[7][74][75]
In February 2023, Caicedo was appointed as an Ambassador of Resilient Youth byUSAID, an award given to her by the United States government for "maximizing the potential of vulnerable youth in 30 municipalities in Colombia."[7][74]
At the beginning of 2020, just after her 15th birthday, Caicedo began feeling pain in herabdomen. She was misdiagnosed withgastritis, which she was treated for until her pain worsened and her stomach started to bulge.[7] Caicedo was diagnosed withovarian cancer in February 2020, and in March underwent surgery to remove the tumor.[16] For the next six months, her cancer was treated withchemotherapy, which caused her to be bedridden for three months.[7][77] In September 2020, she was declaredcancer-free, and returned to the pitch just days after she finished her final round of chemotherapy.[7][78]
Caicedo struggled mentally during her recovery, and said she sought help from Deportivo Cali's psychologists.[7] She completed her final check-up in November 2021 after many months of challenging doctor's visits that were disrupted by the2021 Colombian protests.[7]
Caicedo is currently in a relationship with her partner Valeria.[79][80] After scoring againstGermany at the2023 FIFA World Cup, she dedicated her goal to her by putting her hands in a heart shape.[81][82][83]
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