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(s) 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 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 3, 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 free kick for the Toronto Lady Lynx in 2010 Olivia Mbala free kick (cropped).jpg
Mbala taking 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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