Michaela Abam

Michaela Abam
	Abam with Real Betis in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Michaela-Batya Bisi Abam
Date of birth	12 June 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Houston, Texas, United States
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Deportivo Toluca
Number	22
Youth career
	Texas Rush
College career
Years	Team
2014–2017	West Virginia Mountaineers
Senior career*
Years	Team
2018	Sky Blue FC
2018–2019	Paris FC
2019–2020	Real Betis
2021–2022	Houston Dash
2023	Linköping FC
2024–	Deportivo Toluca
International career‡
2013	United States U17
2018–	Cameroon
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 May 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:30, 17 July 2022 (UTC)

Michaela-Batya Bisi Abam (born 12 June 1997) is an American-born Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liga MX Femenil side Deportivo Toluca and the Cameroon national team.^[2] She previously played for Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC in the American National Women's Soccer League, Real Betis in the Spanish Primera División, Paris FC in the Division 1 Féminine, and West Virginia University.^[3]^[4]

Early life

Abam was born in Houston, Texas. She attended Harmony Science Academy High School and played youth soccer with Texas Rush, which later became part of Houston Dynamo/Dash Youth Academy.^[5]

College career

Abam played in a school-record 95 games for the Mountaineers, scoring 42 goals and 16 assists. In 2016, she scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over the University of North Carolina in the College Cup semi-final, leading WVU to their first-ever College Cup final.^[6]^[7]

Club career

Sky Blue FC, 2018

Abam was selected by Sky Blue FC as the 4th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.^[8] In March she was named to the final roster for the 2018 season.^[9] After appearing in four games for Sky Blue, she was waived by the team on July 25.^[10]

Paris FC, 2018–2019

On 1 August 2018, Abam signed a one-year contract to play for Paris FC in France's Division 1 Féminine.^[11] She appeared in 10 league matches and scored one goal.^[12]

Real Betis, 2019–2020

On 7 August 2019, Abam signed a one-year contract to play for Spanish Primera División team Real Betis.^[12] She appeared in 15 league matches, scoring three goals, before competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 24 September 2020, she scored a hat-trick against Hispalis in the pre-season Andalusian Women's Cup quarterfinals.^[13] She appeared in five more league matches for Real Betis before leaving the club.^[5]

Houston Dash, 2021–2022

In August 2021, Abam signed for the Houston Dash in the NWSL, becoming the first player signed by the Dash who attended a Dash-affiliated youth club.^[14] Her first appearance was on 13 August 2021 against the Washington Spirit, where she scored the equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw.^[5]^[15]

On 20 March 2023, the Dash announced that the club had waived Abam.^[16]

Linköping FC, 2023–

On 4 April 2023, Damallsvenskan club Linköping FC announced that it had signed Abam.^[4]

International career

Abam made her senior debut for Cameroon on 12 November 2018 in a 7–0 friendly win against Zambia, scoring twice.^[17] Then, she was called up to compete at the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, but did not make any appearance by problems with her Cameroonian passport.^[18] In May 2019, she was named for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Cameroon's goal tally first

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 November 2018	Stade Municipal (Bingerville), Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Zambia	5–0	7–0	Friendly
2	12 November 2018	Stade Municipal (Bingerville), Abidjan, Ivory Coast	Zambia	7–0	7–0	Friendly