Michaela-Batya Bisi Abam (born 12 June 1997) is an American-born Cameroonian 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 ...
who plays as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for the
Houston Dash
The Houston Dash is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season, 2014 season, and is affiliated w ...
in the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...
and the
Cameroon national team. She previously played for
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vi ...
in the Spanish
Primera División,
Paris FC
Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...
in the
Division 1 Féminine
The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twelv ...
,
Sky Blue FC
NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 201 ...
, and
West Virginia University
West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...
.
College career
West Virginia University, 2014–2017
Abam played in a school record 95 games for the Mountaineers, scoring 42 goals and 16 assists. In 2017, she scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sys ...
in the College Cup semi-final, leading WVU to their first-everCollege Cup Final.
Club career
Sky Blue FC, 2018
Abam was selected by
Sky Blue FC
NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 201 ...
as the 4th overall pick in the
2018 NWSL College Draft
The 2018 NWSL College Draft was the sixth annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 18, 2018 at the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvan ...
. In March she was named to the final roster for the 2018 season. After only appearing in 4 games for Sky Blue, she was released by the team on July 25.
Paris FC, 2018–2019
On August 1, 2018 Abam signed with
Paris FC
Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...
in the
Division 1 Féminine
The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twelv ...
in France.
Real Betis, 2019–2020
In August 2019, Abam signed for Spanish
Primera División team
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vi ...
.
Houston Dash, 2021–present
In August 2021, Abam signed for the
Houston Dash
The Houston Dash is a professional Women's association football, women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season, 2014 season, and is affiliated w ...
in the
NWSL
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...
. Her first appearance was on August 13, 2021 against the
Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and con ...
were she scored a goal to give tie the game 2-2, which ended up being the final result of the game.
International career
Abam made her senior debut for Cameroon on 12 November 2018 in a 7–0 friendly win against
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...
, scoring twice. Then, she was called up to compete at the
2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...
, but did not make any appearance by problems with her Cameroonian passport.
In May 2019, she was named for the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...
.
International goals
''Scores and results list Cameroon's goal tally first''
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abam, Michaela
1997 births
Living people
Citizens of Cameroon through descent
Cameroonian women's footballers
Women's association football forwards
Paris FC (women) players
Real Betis Féminas players
Division 1 Féminine players
Primera División (women) players
Cameroon women's international footballers
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Cameroonian expatriate women's footballers
Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate women's footballers in France
Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate women's footballers in Spain
American women's soccer players
Soccer players from Houston
African-American women's soccer players
American people of Cameroonian descent
West Virginia Mountaineers women's soccer players
NJ/NY Gotham FC draft picks
National Women's Soccer League players
NJ/NY Gotham FC players
Houston Dash players
American expatriate women's soccer players
American expatriate sportspeople in France
American expatriate sportspeople in Spain
21st-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American women