|
Yvonne Gabong
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 educationGabong 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 careerShe 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 careerGabong 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] NotesReferences
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
