Şefik Abalı (born 7 June 2002) is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. Born in Austria, he represents Turkey internationally.
Career
Abalı made his professional debut with
Wacker Innsbruck II in a 1–1 Austrian
2. Liga tie with
FC Liefering
FC Liefering GmbH is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club, originally from Salzburg#Districts, Liefering, Salzburg. It currently plays in the Austrian Football Second League, Second League, the second tier of Austrian f ...
on 29 May 2019.
On 1 July 2021, he signed a four-year contract with
Göztepe in Turkey. Seven days later, on 8 July 2021, he joined
SKU Amstetten
Sportklub Union Amstetten, commonly known as SKU Ertl Glas Amstetten for sponsorship reasons is a professional association football club based in the town of Amstetten, Lower Austria, that competes in the Austrian Regionalliga, the third tier ...
on loan, back in Austria.
Abalı signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...
club
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, lo ...
on 31 January 2022. He made his debut for the club on 4 February, coming on as an injury-time substitute for
Toine van Huizen in the 2–2 league draw against
Almere City.
On 16 January 2023, Abalı moved to
TFF Second League
The TFF 2. Lig (), currently referred to as Nesine 2. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continu ...
club
Ä°skenderunspor
Ä°skenderunspor is a defunct sports club based in Ä°skenderun, Turkey. In 2009 a Phoenix club (association football), phoenix club called Ä°skenderunspor 1967 was founded continuing its traditions. Another club Ä°skenderun FK was renamed to Ä°ske ...
on a 2.5-year contract. The contract was mutually terminated on 29 August 2023.
International career
Born in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Abalı is of
Turkish descent. He is a youth international for both Austria and Turkey. He was called up to represent the
Turkey U21s on 17 March 2021.
References
External links
*
OEFB Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abali, Sefik
2002 births
Living people
Footballers from Innsbruck
Turkish men's footballers
Turkey men's youth international footballers
Austrian men's footballers
Austria men's youth international footballers
Austrian sportspeople of Turkish descent
FC Wacker Innsbruck (2002) players
SKU Amstetten players
FC Dordrecht players
2. Liga (Austria) players
Austrian Regionalliga players
Eerste Divisie players
TFF Second League players
Austrian expatriate men's footballers
Turkish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Turkish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Men's association football defenders
21st-century Turkish sportsmen
21st-century Austrian sportsmen