Joya-Maria Azzi

Joya-Maria Maroun Azzi (Arabic: جويا ماريا مارون قزي; born 23 September 2000) is a Lebanese footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or left-back for American club San Francisco Nighthawks and the Lebanon national team.

In this Lebanese name, the father's name is Maroun and the family name is Azzi.
Joya-Maria Azzi
Azzi with EFP in 2021
Personal information
Full name Joya-Maria Maroun Azzi[1]
Date of birth (2000-09-23) 23 September 2000
Place of birth Ajaltoun, Lebanon[1]
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, left-back
Team information
Current team
 San Francisco Nighthawks
Number 10
Youth career
2013–2019 Zouk Mosbeh
2019–2020 EFP
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021 Central Methodist Eagles 15 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Zouk Mosbeh
2019–2021 EFP (2)
2022 Iowa Raptors FC (1)
2023– San Francisco Nighthawks (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Lebanon U19 6 (0)
2018– Lebanon 12 (1)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Lebanon
WAFF Women's Championship
Bronze medal – third place2019
WAFF U-18 Women's Championship
Silver medal – second place2018U-18 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:02, 12 June 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19:36, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

Early life

Born in Ajaltoun, Lebanon, Azzi grew up in Okaibe, where she began playing football aged four.[2] She initially played with local boys teams, before playing futsal with her high school team aged 13.[2]

Club career

Early career

Azzi joined her first girls football team at 14 years old, when she moved to Zouk Mosbeh.[2] She then played for the under-17s and under-18s, before making her senior debut.[2] Aged 18, she moved to EFP, playing for both their under-19 and senior teams.[2] Azzi played two years for EFP.[2]

Central Methodist Eagles

On 3 August 2021, Azzi joined the Central Methodist Eagles, the team of the Central Methodist University.[3] She made her debut on 25 August, as a 60th-minute substitute in a 4–0 win against the William Woods Owls.[4]

Azzi played 11 regular season games, and helped her team finish as both league and tournament champions of the 2021 Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament.[5][6] She also finished semi-finalist of the NAIA Women's Soccer Championship.[7]

Iowa Raptors FC

On 28 March 2022, Azzi moved to Iowa Raptors FC in the Women's Premier Soccer League.[2]

International career

In 2018, Azzi was called up to play for the Lebanon national under-19 team, playing eight games.[2] She got her first call up to the senior team in 2018.[2] Azzi was called up to represent Lebanon at the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship;[8] she helped her side finish runners-up, scoring a goal against Syria on 4 September.[9]

Career statistics

International
Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Azzi goal.
List of international goals scored by Joya-Maria Azzi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 September 2022 Petra Stadium, Amman, Jordan  Syria 2–0 5–2 2022 WAFF Championship

Honours

Zouk Mosbeh

EFP

  • Lebanese Women's FA Cup: 2020–21

Central Methodist Eagles

Lebanon U18

Lebanon

See also

References
  1. "Joya-Maria Azzi". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. Smith, Alexis (28 March 2022). "Iowa Raptors FC add Joya-Maria Azzi and Noor Noujaim to the Women's Team". Iowa Raptors FC. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  3. Eleven Football Pro [@efpwfc] (3 August 2021). "We are so proud of our player JOYA for joining Eagles Women's team in the USA! Good luck with your future career and education! 💙💛" – via Instagram.
  4. "Central Methodist vs. William Woods - Box Score - 8/25/2021". Central Methodist University. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. "No. 5 Central completes perfect conference slate with 6-0 shut out of Park". 31 October 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "CMU claims third straight Heart Tournament title with 5-2 victory over Missouri Valley". 14 November 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Eagles end season with No. 3 national ranking". 15 December 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "وصول سيدات الأرز الى الأردن للمشاركة في بطولة غرب آسيا". The LFA (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  9. الأردن يتوج ببطولة السيدات السابعة.. ويضيف اللقب الخامس إلى سجله [Jordan win the seventh women's championship.. and add a fifth title to their record]. West Asian Football Federation (in Arabic). 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
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