Yvonne Gabong

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Yvonne Gabong
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-08-29) 29 August 1996 (age 27)
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 FC Genesis
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Poro
FC Genesis
International career‡
2011– Papua New Guinea 23[2][a] (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 September 2021

Yvonne Gabong (born 29 August 1996) is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays as a midfielder and is co-captain of the Papua New Guinea women's national team. She is also the skipper of FC Genesis.

Early life and education[edit]

Gabong is a native of Madang and Manus in Papua New Guinea.[2] Her father, Alfred Gabong, was a soccer player who represented Papua New Guinea internationally.[6]

She began playing football at the age of nine,[7] representing Salvation Army Lae Primary School.[2] Her father told her she had a future in soccer when she kicked a ball while her younger brother stood in goal, and broke his tooth.[2]

She later attended Goroka Grammar School,[6] and continued her tertiary studies in information technology.[2] Gabong has said that in addition to her father, she was inspired by former PNG women's captain and midfielder Deslyn Siniu as a role model.[6] Her younger brother, Pansop Gabong, has played as a defender in the PNG National Soccer League.[2] They also have an older sister.[2]

International career[edit]

She made her international debut at the age of thirteen, as part of an U17 squad for Papua New Guinea that played against New Zealand at the regional championships.[7][2] In 2011, Gabong was asked to join the PNG senior women's team as a flanker.[7] She played in a particularly challenging match against New Caledonia as a newly inducted midfielder.[6]

Gabong was part of the PNG senior women that won gold at the Pacific Games in 2015[7] and again in 2019.[8] In January 2016, she appeared in the women's World Cup qualifying match against New Zealand in Lae, Morobe, which PNG lost 7–1.[6]

Gabong was one of the first players selected for the PNG U20 squad when Papua New Guinea won the bid to host the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup tournament.[6] They first played against USA and Japan in the Tri Nations World Cup friendlies hosted by Papua New Guinea at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.[6] The National newspaper said Gabong "became the face of the nation in 2016" after leading the PNG U20 squad's "valiant" effort in the Women's World Cup.[2]

Yvonne Gabong is currently co-captain of the PNG national women's team, together with Meagan Gunemba.[9] On 30 July 2022, PNG defeated Fiji 2–1 in the OFC Women's Nations Cup final in Suva, Fiji.[10] Gabong and Gunemba went on tour with the Nations Cup trophy, first visiting Madang province, where Gabong grew up.[9]

Club career[edit]

Gabong first played club football for Poro in Lae, Papua New Guinea.[2] At the age of 24, she became the captain of FC Genesis, a new franchise,[8] which went on to win the inaugural 2020–21 Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) Southern Conference.[2]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ [3][4][5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Play-Off Tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023" (PDF). FIFA. 12 February 2023. p. 1. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Brother's loss was a gain for Gabong". The National. Papua New Guinea. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Match". Oceania Football Federation. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Match". Oceania Football Federation. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Match". Oceania Football Federation. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Morabang, Henry (4 October 2016). "Gabong to lead U20s midfield". The National. Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Raiko, Dinnierose (31 August 2016). "Gabong for Glory". EMTV Online. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Gabong ready to lead FC Genesis". Papua New Guinea Football Association. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Co-captains start Madang tour". Loop PNG. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  10. ^ "PNG downs Fiji to win Nations Cup". Fiji Live. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
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