Hicham Aâboubou (; born 19 May 1978) is a Moroccan former 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 lea ...

who played as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Career

Africa

Aâboubou started his soccer career with

Khenifra Khenifra () is a city in northern central Morocco, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and located on the Oum Er-Rbia River. National Highway 8 also goes through the town. The population, as of a 2019 census, was 228,567. History Khenifra has been ...

playing with the junior team from 1992 to 1994. In 1994, he joined

Kawkab Marrakech Kawkab Athletic Club of Marrakesh (; KACM) is a Moroccan professional football (soccer), football club based in Marrakech, Marrakesh. The club was founded on 20 September 1947 by Hadj Idriss Talbi. History On 2 May 2023, Kawkab was promoted to ...

, initially playing with the junior team before eventually graduating through the senior A team, where he would play until 2001. From 2001 to 2002, he played for Mouloudia Oujda before being transferred back to

. From 2002 to 2006, he played with KACM A Team, scoring two goals in 48 games.

North America

In 2006, Aâboubou joined Canadian team Laval Dynamites and scored two goals in 13 games in his debut season with the club. On July 31, he joined Montreal Impact but did not play a single game in his first year. He made his debut for the team on April 21, 2007, against the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

, but was released by Montreal in February 2008. During the 2007 season he was loaned to the Impact's farm team

Trois-Rivières Attak Trois-Rivières Attak was a Canadian Association football, soccer team that played three seasons in the Canadian Soccer League. They formally served as a reserve and academy team for the USL First Division side Montreal Impact (1992–2011), Mont ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. He managed to win some silverware with the Attak by winning the

Open Canada Cup The Open Canada Cup was an annual knock-out cup competition in Canadian Soccer. The competition was first held during the 1998 season as the CPSL League Cup. It was organized by the Canadian Soccer League (formerly the Canadian Professional ...

, where he featured in the finals match against Columbus Clan F.C. which resulted in a 3–0 victory. In the summer of 2008, Aâboubou announced he would take a sabbatical from professional soccer, intending to return to study at Arts of Science at

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

while playing

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the university's

Montréal Carabins The Montréal Carabins () are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Teams play at the CEPSUM Stadium and at l'aréna du CEPSUM, located at the Université de Montréal camp ...

. On July 28, 2009, the Montreal Impact signed Aâboubou to a two-year contract. He made his first appearance of the season on August 1 against

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

.IMPACT 1 MIAMI 1
During the 2009 season Aâboubou helped the Impact clinch a playoff spot by finishing fifth in the standings. In the playoffs, he helped the Impact reach the USL finals against the

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

, the match was noted for the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. The Impact would eventually defeat the Whitecaps on 6-3 aggregate on goals, and therefore claim their third USL Championship.

Honors

;Trois-Rivières Attak *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

References

External links

Montreal Impact bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaboubou, Hicham 1978 births Living people 20th-century Moroccan people 21st-century Moroccan people People from Khenifra Moroccan emigrants to Canada Moroccan men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Ligue1 Québec players KAC Marrakech players MC Oujda players Laval Dynamites players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players Trois-Rivières Attak players FC Lanaudière players Moroccan expatriate men's footballers Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada University and college men's soccer players in Canada