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 Iowa Raptors FC 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
Club information
Current team
 Iowa Raptors FC
Youth career
2013–2019 Zouk Mosbeh
2019–2020 EFP
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Central Methodist Eagles 13 (0)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Zouk Mosbeh
2019–2021 EFP (2)
2022– Iowa Raptors FC 0 (0)
National team‡
2018–2019 Lebanon U19 6 (0)
2018– Lebanon 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:07, 29 March 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:18, 15 April 2021 (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]

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)
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