Yvonne Gabong
Personal information
Date of birth (1996-08-29) 29 August 1996
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][lower-alpha 1]
*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

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

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

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

References

  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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Morabang, Henry (4 October 2016). "Gabong to lead U20s midfield". The National. Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Raiko, Dinnierose (31 August 2016). "Gabong for Glory". EMTV Online. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Gabong ready to lead FC Genesis". Papua New Guinea Football Association. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  9. 1 2 "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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