Joya-Maria Azzi
_01_(Joya-Maria_Azzi).jpg) Azzi with EFP in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Joya-Maria Maroun Azzi[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 23 September 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ajaltoun, Lebanon[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | EFP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2019 | Zouk Mosbeh | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | EFP | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Central Methodist Eagles | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Zouk Mosbeh | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | EFP | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Iowa Raptors FC | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | San Francisco Nighthawks | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Missouri Reign | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | EFP | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Lebanon U19 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2023 | Lebanon | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:13, 15 February 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:36, 10 July 2023 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lebanese club EFP.
Early life
[edit]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
[edit]Early career
[edit]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 in the Lebanese Women's Football League.[2] Aged 18, she moved to EFP, playing for both their under-19 and senior teams.[2] Azzi played two years for EFP.[2]
Move to the United States
[edit]Central Methodist Eagles
[edit]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]
Azzi played 17 games throughout three seasons (2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24) for the side, providing one assist.[8]
Women's Premier Soccer League
[edit]On 28 March 2022, Azzi moved to Iowa Raptors FC in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL).[2][9] She was listed in the 2022 WPSL All-Conference Best XI.[10]
Azzi joined San Francisco Nighthawks ahead of the 2023 WPSL season.[11]
On 30 April 2024, Azzi joined Missouri Reign for the 2024 WPSL season.[12] She re-signed for the club on 26 April 2025, taking part in her fourth WPSL season in 2025.[13]
Return to EFP
[edit]On 5 November 2025, Azzi returned to EFP ahead of the 2025–26 Lebanese Women's Football League.[14]
International career
[edit]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] Azzi was called up to represent Lebanon at the 2022 WAFF Women's Championship;[15] she helped her side finish runners-up, scoring a goal against Syria on 4 September.[16]
Personal life
[edit]Azzi grew up attending Marist College of Our Lady of Lourdes in Byblos, Lebanon.[13] She graduated from the Central Methodist University in 2024.[13]
Career statistics
[edit]International
[edit]- Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Azzi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 September 2022 | Petra Stadium, Amman, Jordan |  Syria |
2–0 | 5–2 | 2022 WAFF Championship |
Honours
[edit]Zouk Mosbeh
- Lebanese Women's Football League: 2017–18
- Lebanese Women's FA Cup: 2017–18
- Lebanese Women's Super Cup: 2017, 2018
EFP
- Lebanese Women's FA Cup: 2020–21
Central Methodist Eagles
- Heart of America Athletic Conference league champion: 2021
- Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament champion: 2021
Lebanon U18
- WAFF U-18 Women's Championship runner-up: 2018
Lebanon
- WAFF Women's Championship third place: 2019
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Joya-Maria Azzi". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Smith, Alexis (28 March 2022). "Iowa Raptors FC add Joya-Maria Azzi and Noor Noujaim to the Women's Team". Iowa Raptors FC. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Central Methodist vs. William Woods - Box Score - 8/25/2021". Central Methodist University. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ↑ "No. 5 Central completes perfect conference slate with 6-0 shut out of Park". 31 October 2021.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ "CMU claims third straight Heart Tournament title with 5-2 victory over Missouri Valley". 14 November 2021.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ "Eagles end season with No. 3 national ranking". 15 December 2021.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ https://www.cmueagles.com/sports/wsoc/2023-24/bios/azzi_joya-maria_hyok?view=career&pos=kickers
- ↑ https://www.wpslsoccer.com/news/2022/05/13/iowa-raptors-fc-building-inaugural-wpsl-roster-around-international-talent
- ↑ https://www.wpslsoccer.com/news/2022/08/23/central-region-player-awards
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CqexvA8OC-a/?hl=en&img_index=2
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ZfS0FPdyK/
- 1 2 3 https://www.instagram.com/p/DI7LpSbBJnb/?img_index=1
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/DQq3K8qEyYS
- ↑ "وصول سيدات الأرز الى الأردن للمشاركة في بطولة غرب آسيا". The LFA (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ↑ الأردن يتوج ببطولة السيدات السابعة.. ويضيف اللقب الخامس إلى سجله [Jordan win the seventh women's championship.. and add a fifth title to their record]. West Asian Football Federation (in Arabic). 5 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
External links
[edit]
- Profile at WPSL
- Profile at the Central Methodist Eagles
- Joya-Maria Azzi at FA Lebanon
- Joya-Maria Azzi at Global Sports Archive
- Joya-Maria Azzi at Kooora.com (in Arabic) (archived in English at Goalzz.com)
- 2000 births
- Living people
- People from Keserwan District
- Lebanese women's footballers
- Women's association football midfielders
- Women's association football full-backs
- Zouk Mosbeh SC footballers
- Eleven Football Pro players
- Central Methodist Eagles women's soccer players
- Iowa Raptors FC (women) players
- San Francisco Nighthawks players
- Lebanese Women's Football League players
- Women's Premier Soccer League players
- Lebanon women's youth international footballers
- Lebanon women's international footballers
- Lebanese expatriate women's footballers
- Lebanese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States
- 21st-century Lebanese sportswomen