Mukarama Abdulai

Mukarama Abdulai (born 16 October 2002) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Spanish club Deportivo Alavés,[1] the Black Maidens and the Ghana women's national team.[1]

Mukarama Abdulai
Abdulai in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002
Place of birth Tamale, Ghana
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2011–2019 Northern Ladies FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 UDS - (-)
2019–2021 Tyler Apaches 39 (50)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Northern Ladies FC
2021–2023 Alavés 5 (0)
International career
2017–2018 Ghana U17 8 (19)
2019– Ghana U20 2 (2)
2019– Ghana
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 March 2023

College career

University for Development Studies

In late 2018, Abdulai gained admission into the University for Development Studies (UDS) and joined the school's football team. During the 8th edition of the Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) mini games in 2019, she led the team to win the female football tournament scoring three goals to win the top scorer and the best player of the tournament accolade.[2][3][4]

Tyler Junior College

In August 2019, she got a scholarship to study at the Tyler Junior College in Texas, USA, whilst pursuing her football career.[5][6]

During her debut season for the Tyler Junior College women's soccer team, she scored 27 goals and made 13 assists to help the team win the 2019 NJCAA Gulf South District Championship[7][8] and the NJCAA Women's Soccer Championship, including a brace in the final. After recording three consecutive braces to close out the tournament, she was selected as the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the competition.

In her second season, she scored 23 goals and made 10 assists to help the team win the 2020 NJCAA Gulf South District Championship and the NJCAA Women's Soccer Championship for the second consecutive year.[9] In the finals she scored a brace as Tyler College beat Salt Lake (Utah) 2–0 in the final match of the season to complete the campaign with an 18–0 record.[10][9] She ended the championship as the top scorer, points leader and was also adjudged the Most Valuable Player.[11][12][10]

Club career

Abdulai joined Ghana Premier League side Northern Ladies FC in 2011 at the age of 9.[13] During the 2020–21 season, on match day 1 she scored a hat-trick in their 3–1 win over Ashtown Ladies on 17 January 2021. She scored two goals in the first half and one in the second half to seal the first win for the club.[14]

On 16 July 2021, Alavés, announced that they had signed Abdulai on a two-year deal and was set to stay with the club until 2023.[15][16] In January 2023, Abdulai and Alavés announced that she had mutually terminated her contract with the club.[17]

International career

She captained Ghana's squad during the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay,[18] where she won the Golden Boot for her tournament-best seven goals and two assists. She scored a hat-trick in the first match against the host country. In addition, she won the Bronze Ball.[19][20] After her exploits with the team, she was adjudged the Women's footballer of the Year for 2018 by SWAG, beating Grace Asantewaa and Faustina Ampah to the award.[21]

Abdulai was called up to the senior team ahead of the 2019 WAFU Zone B Women's Cup. She made her debut during the first match of the tournament against Senegal and scored a goal to help Ghana seal a 2–0 victory.[22]

She was named on Ghana U20 side and made captain ahead of a double friendly match against Morocco in November 2020. She made her debut in the first match on 23 November 2020 with Ghana suffering a 1–0 defeat, however in the second match on 30 November, she scored a brace to help Ghana win by 4–0.[23][24][25]

Honours

Ghana

Individual

See also

References
  1. "Black Princesses striker Abdulai Mukarama joins Spanish club Deportivo Alaves Femenino". GhanaSoccernet. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  2. "UDS tops GUSA games". GhanaWeb. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  3. "UDS whips UCC, UG in soccer". GhanaWeb. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. Duah, George (7 January 2019). "Abdulai Mukarama leads UDS to 2019 GUSA Mini Trophy at Cape Coast Stadium". kyfilla.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  5. "Mukarama Abdulai gets US university scholarship". GhanaWeb. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  6. "Maidens star Mukarama Abdulai gets scholarship to study in the United States". GhanaWeb. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  7. "Mukarama Abdulai scores 23 goals to help Tyler JC win South District Championship". GhanaWeb. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  8. "Ghana star Mukarama Abdulai bangs in 23 goals as Tyler Junior College win NJCAA Gulf South District Championship". GhanaSoccernet. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  9. "Tyler wins 5th women's soccer championship". NJCAA. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  10. "Ghanaian star Abdulai Mukarama wins MVP as Tyler College finish season as National champions". GhanaSoccernet. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. "2020 NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship - Tournament Awards". NJCAA. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  12. "OFFICIAL: Black Queens forward Abdulai Mukarama joins Deportivo Alavés - Kickgh.com". www.kickgh.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  13. "Fruit of Defiance: The rise of Mukarama Abdulai". Citi Sports Online. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  14. "Women's Premier League: Mukarama Abdulai bags hat-trick as Northern Ladies make flying start". GhanaSoccernet. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  15. "Las Gloriosas se refuerzan con Abdulai Mukarama | Alavés - Web Oficial". Las Gloriosas se refuerzan con Abdulai Mukarama | Alavés - Web Oficial (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  16. Osman, Abdul Wadudu (16 July 2021). "OFFICIAL : Deportivo Alaves announce the signing of Mukarama Abdulai". Football Made In Ghana. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  17. "Acuerdo para la rescisión del contrato de Abdulai Mukarama" [Agreement for the termination of the contract of Abdulai Mukarama] (in Spanish). Alavés. 31 January 2023.
  18. "Ghana go out of U-17 Fifa Women's World Cup on penalties". BBC Sport. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  19. Ghana Football Association. "Black Maidens Captain Mukarama Abdulai wins Golden Boot at FIFA U17 WWC". Ghana football association.
  20. "Maidens, Uruguay in tricky opener". Graphic Online. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  21. "SWAG AWARDS: Mukarama Abdulai Adjudged Women Footballer Of The Year". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  22. "Wafu Women's Cup: Senegal 0-2 Ghana - Evelyn Badu and Abdulai Mukarama hand Black Queens winning start | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  23. "Black Princesses defeat Morocco 4-0 in second international friendly". Citi Sports Online. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  24. Association, Ghana Football. "Mukarama double inspires Black Princesses revenge against Morocco". www.ghanafa.org. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  25. "Abdulai brace redeems Ghana U20 women against Morocco | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  26. "2019 Women's WAFU: Black Queens beat Mali on penalties to win bronze". GhanaWeb. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  27. "17 year-old Mukarama Abdulai wins women's footballer of the year at Ghana Football Awards". Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  28. "Ghana Football Awards: Mukarama Abdulai wins Women's Football & Future Star awards". GhanaSoccernet. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mukarama Abdulai.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.