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 lea ...

who plays as a forward for

Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...

Club career

Toulouse

Gauvin was born on the French island of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

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 (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

to train with the club, and at the age of 16 joined the senior team in the Division 2 Féminine. In 2012–13, Gauvin played for Toulouse in the

Division 1 Féminine Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 to ...

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 (; ) 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 France, department 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 club Everton in August 2020.

North Carolina Courage

On 31 March 2022, the

North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...

of the American

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

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 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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, 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, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, a brace in the 12–0 victory over

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

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

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. 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 ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and in the 2–0 victory over

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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

2015 Summer Universiade The 2015 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXVIII Summer Universiade () and also known as Gwangju 2015 () was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), hel ...

, 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, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

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

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, coming on as a substitute for Marie-Laure Delie 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. She played in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and in the 2–0 victory over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She started in the 2–2 draw against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, providing the assist for the first goal by Delphine Cascarino. In the knock-out stage she came on as a sub in extra-time in the semi-final 2–1 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

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

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, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

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

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

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 Sportspeople from Gers Women's association football forwards France women's youth international footballers France women's international footballers 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Première Ligue players Toulouse FC (women) players Montpellier HSC (women) players FISU World University Games gold medalists for France Summer World University Games 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 Footballers from Occitania (administrative region) 21st-century French sportswomen