Page 10 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.9 2020-21

Manchester City Football Club is delighted to announce the
signing of 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup winner Abby
Dahlkemper on a two-and-a-half year contract.
A seasoned professional and a key figure for the
USWNT, the defender makes the switch to the Barclays FA
Women's Super League after four seasons with North Carolina
Courage in the NWSL. She becomes the third American
international in the team's ranks meanwhile, following in the
footsteps of USWNT teammates Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle
who joined City last August.
Hailing from Menlo Park in Northern California,
Dahlkemper played collegiately with the UCLA Bruins, where
she helped secure the National Championship in 2013. In
2014, she won the Honda Award for collegiate women's soccer, representing the top player
in the country reflecting athletic achievement, academic achievement and community
involvement.
Following her departure from UCLA, she enjoyed a brief loan spell in Australia with
Adelaide United before moving to Western New York Flash where she won the NWSL title
in 2016. Following the club's sale in 2017, the centre half became part of North Carolina
Courage and played in every minute of their NWSL Shield victory before being named in the
season's NWSL Best XI and voted as the league's Defender of the Year. Whilst with the
Sahlen's Stadium outfit, the 27-year-old won back-to-back league titles and secured a hat-
trick of Shield successes.
Internationally, Dahlkemper represented her homeland at various youth levels - even
captaining their Under-17s side - before being handed her debut for the senior set-up in
October 2016. She has since won the SheBelieves Cup (2018 and 2020), Tournament of
Nations and CONCACAF Women's Championship (2018), FIFA Women's World Cup (2019)
and most recently in 2020, the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament with
the USWNT.
She also played the most minutes of any field player during their World Cup triumph,
featuring in 622 of a possible 630 minutes as they lifted the prestigious trophy.
Now moving to England for the first time in her career, Dahlkemper has signed a
two-and-a-half year contract with the Club to keep her at the Academy Stadium until the
summer of 2023 and will wear the number 13 shirt.
Speaking about her move, Dahlkemper said: "I am so excited to join Manchester City
- it's a world class club full of incredible players and I can't wait to get started. "With all the
talent in the FAWSL, I know that each game will present a new challenge and the
opportunity to grow both as a player and as a person in England is going to be amazing,
alongside having the chance to play Champions League football too.
"Sam [Mewis] and Rose [Lavelle] have been saying nothing but brilliant things about
the Club and hearing them speak so highly about the facilities, the staff and the players as
well as their experience of a new technical and tactical challenge is something that was really
appealing to me.
"I just can't wait to get over and help the team in whatever way I can and be successful
on the field."
Head Coach Gareth Taylor said: "We're delighted to welcome Abby to Manchester
City, another exciting addition to our squad.
Issue no. 9 - 4 February 2021 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk