Olivia Mbala

Last updated

Olivia Mbala
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-05-12) May 12, 1992 (age 33)
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 Montreal Roses
Number 24
Youth career
Wexford SC
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010 North Carolina Tar Heels 3 (1)
2012–2014 Florida Atlantic Owls 52 (4)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010 Toronto Lady Lynx
2015–2016 Grenoble Métropole Claix  [ fr ] 14 (1)
2016–2019 Grenoble 36 (1)
2017 → Unionville Milliken SC (loan) 1 (0)
2018 → DeRo United FC (loan) 2 (0)
2019–2020 Rodez 8 (0)
2020–2022 Saint-Malo 23 (5)
2022–2025 Lille OSC 48 (3)
2025– Montreal Roses FC 4 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 20, 2025

Olivia Mbala (born May 12, 1992) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Northern Super League club Montreal Roses FC.

Contents

Early life

Mbala began playing youth soccer at age five with Wexford SC. [1] She played with Team Ontario at the 2009 Canada Summer Games. [2]

College career

In 2010, Mbala began attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she played for the women's soccer team. [2] On October 21, 2010, she scored her first goal in a 5-1 victory over the Clemson Tigers. [3]

In 2011, she transferred to Florida Atlantic University to play for the women's soccer team, but sat out the 2011 season due to NCAA transfer rules. [4] On October 25, 2012, she scored her first goal in a 2-1 loss to the FIU Panthers. [5] In 2013, she was named to the All-Conference USA First Team. [6] Ahead of the 2014 season, she was named the Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and named to the All-Preseason Team. [7] At the end of the season, she was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and selected to the All-Conference USA First Team and All-Central Region Second Team. [8] [9]

Club career

Mbala taking a free kick for the Toronto Lady Lynx in 2010 Olivia Mbala free kick (cropped).jpg
Mbala taking a free kick for the Toronto Lady Lynx in 2010

In 2010, Mbala played with the Toronto Lady Lynx in the USL W-League.

In 2015, she signed with Grenoble Métropole Claix  [ fr ] in the French Division 2 Féminine. [10]

In the summer of 2016, Grenoble took over Claix and she joined their squad. In July 2017, she played a single match with Unionville Milliken SC in League1 Ontario. [11] In July 2018, she played with DeRo United FC in League1 Ontario, making two appearances. [12] In June 2019, she departed Grenoble. [13]

In the summer of 2019, Mbala joined Rodez in the Division 2 Féminine. [14]

In September 2020, she signed with Saint-Malo in the Division 2 Féminine. [15]

In June 2022, Mbala signed with Lille OSC in the Division 2 Féminine. [16] However, shortly after signing, she suffered a knee injury delaying her debut. [17] On November 27, 2022, she made her debut in a 7-0 victory over CA Paris 14  [ fr ]. [18] [19] In July 2023, she extended her contract through June 2025. [20] She helped the club earn promotion to the Première Ligue after her first season, but they were immediately relegated back the following year. [21] [22]

In July 2025, Mbala returned to Canada and signed with Northern Super League club Montreal Roses FC. [23] [24] She had initiallly had discussions about joining the squad at the beginning of the season, but chose to finish out the remainder of her contract with Lille before signing. [25] She made her debut on August 3, 2025, in a substitute appearance against Halifax Tides FC. [26]

International career

In 2010, Mbala attended a series of training camps with the Canada U18 team. [27]

Personal life

Born in Canada, Mbala is of DR Congolese descent through her father. [27]

References

  1. ↑ "Fem : Olivia Mbala, nouvelle Lilloise" [Fem: Olivia Mbala, new Lille resident]. Lille OSC (in French). June 22, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Olivia Mbala North Carolina profile". North Carolina Tar Heels .
  3. ↑ "No. 2 Tar Heels Take Down Clemson 5-1". North Carolina Tar Heels . October 21, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Olivia Mbala FAU profile". Florida Atlantic Owls . August 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Women's Soccer Drops Regular-Season Finale to FIU". Florida Atlantic Owls . October 25, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Mbala, Emslie, Englert named All-Conference USA for Women's Soccer". Florida Atlantic Owls . November 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ "MBala, Emslie, Englert earn Preseason All-Conference Honors". Florida Atlantic Owls . August 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ "MBala, Emslie, Arnadottir and Hauksdottir Earn All-Conference Honors". Florida Atlantic Owls . November 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Olivia MBala Named to NSCAA All-Central Region Team". Florida Atlantic Owls . December 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ Interview d'Olivia Mbala [Interview with Olivia Mbala]. Grenoble Métropole Claix Football Féminin (in French). YouTube. December 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Olivia Mbala 2017 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  12. ↑ "Olivia Mbala 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario.
  13. ↑ "Direction Rodez pour Olivia MBala et Margaux Bueno (GF38)" [Olivia MBala and Margaux Bueno (GF38) head to Rodez]. Grenoble Foot 38 (in French). June 28, 2019. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Football : deux recrues "made in USA" dans les rangs des Ruthénoises" [Football: Two "Made in USA" recruits join the ranks of the Ruthénoises]. Centre Presse Aveyron (in French). August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ "D2F. Un mercato très actif chez les Malouines" [D2F. A very active transfer window at the Falklands]. Ouest-France (in French). September 4, 2020. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  16. ↑ Bja, Rayan (June 22, 2022). "Olivia Mbala, deuxième recrue pour les féminines du LOSC" [Olivia Mbala, second recruit for the LOSC women's team]. Le Petit Lillois (in French). Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ Alix, Tristan (December 9, 2022). "Olivia Mbala (LOSC Féminines) : « Je suis très heureuse de faire partie du groupe »" [Olivia Mbala (LOSC Women): “I am very happy to be part of the group”]. Le Petit Lillois (in French).
  18. ↑ "Olivia Mbala "Quand je repense aux moments compliqués c'est une belle récompense"" [Olivia Mbala: "When I think back on the difficult times, it's a great reward."]. Lille OSC (in French). December 8, 2022. Archived from the original on April 20, 2025. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  19. ↑ Lemichel, Hugo (November 29, 2022). "LOSC Féminines : Olivia Mbala de retour après 3 mois d'absence" [LOSC Women: Olivia Mbala returns after 3 months of absence]. Le Petit Lillois (in French). Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  20. ↑ Marcant, Raphael (July 21, 2023). "Officiel : Olivia Mbala prolonge avec la section féminine du LOSC" [Official: Olivia Mbala extends contract with LOSC women's section]. Le Petit Lillois (in French).
  21. ↑ "Olivia Mbala : "Lille ? Ma deuxième maison"" [Olivia Mbala: "Lille? My second home"]. Lille OSC (in French). February 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Olivia Mbala prolonge avec le LOSC" [Olivia Mbala extends with LOSC]. Lille OSC (in French). July 21, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Olivia Mbala s'entend avec les Roses de Montréal" [Olivia Mbala signs with the Montreal Roses]. Courrier Laval (in French). July 8, 2025.
  24. ↑ Roger, Christine (July 7, 2025). "Olivia Mbala se joint aux Roses de Montréal" [Olivia Mbala joins the Montreal Roses]. Ici Radio-Canada Télé (in French).
  25. ↑ Arcand, Jean-Philippe (July 7, 2025). "Pour Olivia Mbala, le bon moment était arrivé" [For Olivia Mbala, the right time had come]. La Presse (in French).
  26. ↑ "Les Roses se butent encore aux Tides, qui leur soutirent une nulle de 1-1" [The Roses again came up against the Tides, who forced them to draw 1-1]. RDS (in French). August 2, 2025.
  27. 1 2 Olivia Mbala at Canada Soccer
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