Valérie Marie Christelle Gauvin (born 1 June 1996) is a French professional

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 plays 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 ...

for FC Fleury 91 and the France national team.

Club career

Toulouse

Gauvin was born on the French island of

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

and moved to the south-west of mainland France with her mother and sister at the age of 4. At the age of 12 she joined

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

to train with the club, and at the age of 16 joined the senior team in the

Division 2 Féminine The Division 2 Féminine, shortened as D2 Féminine, is the second division of women's football in France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas ...

. In 2012–13, Gauvin played for Toulouse in the

Division 1 Féminine The Division 1 Féminine, shortened as D1 Féminine or D1F, and currently known as D1 Arkema for sponsorship reasons, is the highest division of women's football in France. Run by the French Football Federation, the league is contested by twel ...

before being relegated back to the Division 2 Féminine. In the 2013–14 season she was the top scorer of the league with 32 goals in 20 games. During her time at Toulouse, she also scored 45 goals in the National U19 Challenge.

Montpellier

In June 2014, Gauvin returned to the

, joining

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

. In May 2017, following a successful season in which she scored 13 goals in 17 appearances and helped Montpellier qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Women's Champions League, Gauvin signed a contract extension until 2020.

Everton

After scoring 14 goals in 16 appearances for

in the 2019–20 season, Gauvin was signed by

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

club Everton in August 2020.

North Carolina Courage

On 31 March 2022, the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage is a professional women's soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acquired National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise rights from the Western New York F ...

of the American

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

paid a transfer fee to Everton to acquire Gauvin, who signed a one-year contract with one-year option. After five months without an appearance for the club while recuperating from minor injuries, the Courage traded Gauvin to

Houston Dash The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

in exchange for $25,000 in allocation money and a conditional second-round pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft.

International career

In July 2012, Gauvin represented France under-16 at the 2012 Nordic Under-16 Cup. She started in the 1–0 loss to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, started and scored the first goal in the 5–1 victory over

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and started and scored a brace in the 3–0 victory over

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, giving France the third place in the tournament. In October 2012, Gauvin represented France under-17 in the first round of the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship qualification campaign. She started all 3 matches, scoring a brace in the 5–0 victory against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, a brace in the 12–0 victory over

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, and a hat-trick in the 5–0 victory over

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. In March 2013, she was in the French squad for the second round. She started and scored a goal in both the 3–1 victory over

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and in the 2–0 victory over

, but came on as a 75th minute substitute in the 1–1 draw with

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, who qualified due to a better goal-difference. In July 2015, Gauvin helped France to win the gold medal at the

2015 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 143 , Athletes participating = 12,885 , Events = 272 in 21 sports , Opening ceremony = , Closing ceremony = , Officially opened by = Park Geun-hye , Athlete's Oath = Kim Seong-yeon and Kim Kuk-young , Judge's Oath = K ...

, including opening the scoring against Russia in the 2–0 victory in the final. In September 2015, Gauvin was called up to the French senior team for the first time, for matches against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. She made her official debut appearance for the French senior team on 23 October 2015, in a 2–1 loss to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, coming on as a substitute for

Marie-Laure Delie Marie-Laure Delie (born 29 January 1988) is a French football player who currently plays for Madrid CFF of the Primera Division. She plays as a striker and is a member of the France women's national football team having made her debut for the ...

in the 71st minute. In November 2016, Gauvin was selected for France's under-20 squad for the

2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tourname ...

. She played in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in Australia ahead of the tournament, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 victory. In the tournament's group stage she came on as a late sub in the 0–0 draw against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and in the 2–0 victory over

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. She started in the 2–2 draw against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, providing the assist for the first goal by

Delphine Cascarino Delphine Cascarino (born 5 February 1997) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the France national team. Club career Cascarino started playing football for her local youth teams ...

. In the knock-out stage she came on as a sub in extra-time in the semi-final 2–1 victory over

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and in the 73rd minute in the final against

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

which France lost 3–1. In March 2017, Gauvin represented the French secondary senior team at the 2017

Istria Cup The Istria Cup is an annual invitational women's football tournament, hosted by Croatia since 2013, in the Istria region of Croatia. It is held at the same time of the year as Algarve Cup, Cyprus Cup and SheBelieves Cup The SheBelieves Cup ...

. She played in all 4 matches, scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against Hungary B. France B finished the tournament in third place, beating

1–0. On 23 October 2017, Gauvin scored her first goal for the French senior team in an 8–0 victory over

during a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. On 6 April 2018, Gauvin scored a hat-trick in an 8–0 victory over

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Career statistics

International

''Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Gauvin goal.''

References

External links

* *
Valérie Gauvin
at

Valérie Gauvin
at Footofeminin.fr * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gauvin, Valérie 1996 births Living people French women's footballers Women's footballers from Réunion Sportspeople from Saint-Denis, Réunion Women's association football forwards France women's youth international footballers France women's international footballers 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Division 1 Féminine players Toulouse FC (women) players Montpellier HSC (women) players Universiade gold medalists for France Universiade medalists in football Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade Black French sportspeople French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate women's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States National Women's Soccer League players North Carolina Courage players Houston Dash players French expatriate women's footballers