Sandy Patricia Abi-Elias ( ar, ساندي ابي الياس; born 10 May 1997) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Abi-Elias played for various youth clubs in England, most notably

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. She made her senior debut in 2014 with

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, before playing for Bristol Academy,

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

, and

Keynsham Town Keynsham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Keynsham, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the and play at Crown Fields. History The club was established in 1895. ...

. Born in England, Abi-Elias is of Lebanese descent; she represented

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

internationally in 2018.

Club career

Youth

Abi-Elias started her youth career at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 2007, before moving to

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

in 2011. After one year, Abi-Elias moved to

, winning the 2012–13 FA Girls Youth Cup, before joining

in 2013, staying there one year.

Senior

In 2014 Abi-Elias began her senior career at

, playing during the 2014–15 season. In 2015 she moved to Bristol Academy, before joining

in 2016. After one season at the club, Abi-Elias moved to

, playing there during the 2017–18 season.

International career

Abi-Elias made her senior international debut for Lebanon on 28 November 2018, in an AFC Women's Olympic qualifying match against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

; Lebanon lost 8–0.

Personal life

Born in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, England, Abi-Elias studied at

Teddington School Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

, London between 2007 and 2013. In 2011, while in

Year 9 Year 9 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the tenth or eleventh year of compulsory education. Australia In Australia, Year 9 is usually the tenth year of compul ...

, Abi-Elias was awarded Football Player of the Year (Girl). Between 2013 and 2015, Abi-Elias studied

BTEC Level 3 The BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) Level 3 diploma is a Further Education qualification and vocational qualification taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The qualification is organised and awarded by Pearson within the ...

Sport and Exercise at Kingston College, while playing for the college's women's football academy. In 2015 Abi-Elias studied at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

, with a BA in Sport and Social Sciences.

Honours

Arsenal * FA Girls Youth Cup: 2012–13

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abi-Elias, Sandy 1997 births Living people Footballers from Isleworth English people of Lebanese descent Sportspeople of Lebanese descent Lebanese women's footballers English women's footballers Women's association football forwards Fulham L.F.C. players AFC Wimbledon Ladies players Arsenal W.F.C. players Chelsea F.C. Women players Watford F.C. Women players Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Swindon Town W.F.C. players Keynsham Town L.F.C. players FA Women's National League players Lebanon women's international footballers Alumni of Kingston College (England) Alumni of the University of Bath