She has since completed her studies, but the 28-year-old's footballing dreams have kept her in Britain despite tough competition.
Inspired to improve, the fullback attended a trial with Wigan Athletic's newly formed women's team who are managed by 2013 FA Cup winner Emmerson Boyce - and was accepted.
She told The Sunday Times: "I trialled with different clubs, and I saw that Wigan announced their intentions to set up a women's team... They had follow-up announcements in terms of the people they've hired, their ambitions, and the infrastructure that they've invested in.
"I saw that they were putting a lot of their words into action, and these were some things that I was looking for in a club. Wigan ticked a lot of those boxes." Hayley Sherratt, Wigan's head of women's operations, highlighted Merican's passion and attitude.
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