Alayah Pilgrim (Arabic: عالية بيلكريم; born 29 April 2003) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a forward for Roma and the Switzerland women's national team.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 April 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Muri, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Roma | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2017 | FC Muri | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2020 | Aarau | 27 | (18) |
| 2020–2022 | Basel | 34 | (13) |
| 2022–2024 | Zürich | 37 | (11) |
| 2024– | Roma | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Switzerland U16 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2020 | Switzerland U17 | 6 | (7) |
| 2021 | Switzerland U19 | 3 | (2) |
| 2023– | Switzerland | 9 | (3) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:35, 31 October 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:00, 9 April 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editPilgrim is a youth product of her local club FC Muri. She wasn't allowed to play football as a youngster, and so secretly started playing with Muri until a coach intervened and convinced her family. She played with the boys until the maximum allowable age, as the club did not have a women's section.[1] In 2017 she began her senior career with Aarau in the Ligue Nationale B at the age of 15.[2] In 2020 at the age of 17, she moved to Basel on a 2-year contract.[3]
On 10 October 2022, Pilgrim moved to Zürich, where she played in the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time.[4] She helped Zürich win the 2022–23 Swiss Women's Super League, scoring in the final - a 3–0 win over Servette FC Chênois Féminin on 2 June 2023.[5]
On 26 January 2024, AS Roma announced the signing of Pilgrim.[6]
International career
editPilgrim was born in Switzerland to a Moroccan father and Swiss mother.[7] She was a youth international for Switzerland, having played up to the Switzerland U19s. In August 2022, she was called up to the Morocco women's national team for the first time.[8] She declined the invitation, as she received it last minute and didn't have time to decide.[7] A couple of months later in October 2022, she was called up to the Switzerland women's national team for the first time, but did not make an appearance.[9]
Just before the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, she opted to formally represent Switzerland internationally. She debuted with them as a substitute in a UEFA Women's Nations League loss to Italy in September 2023.[10]
Honours
edit- Zürich
- Roma
Personal life
editPilgrim studied as a health professional and had an internship at the Muri Hospital in the summer of 2021.[11] Outside of football, she also works as an influencer.[11]
International goals
edit| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 31 October 2023 | Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland |  Spain |
1–4 | 1–7 | 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations |
| 2. | 23 February 2024 | Marbella Football Center, Marbella, Spain |  Poland |
2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 9 April 2024 | Dalga Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan |  Azerbaijan |
0–3 | 0–4 | UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying |
References
edit- ^ "Pour pouvoir jouer au foot, Alayah Pilgrim devait s'entraîner en cachette". Watson.
- ^ Mori, Leandro De (28 October 2018). "Fussball Frauen - Vier Tore innert 16 Minuten: Die 15-jährige Alayah Pilgrim schiesst Aarau gegen Therwil ins Glück". Aargauer Zeitung.
- ^ "Baselundregion.ch traf die aufgestellte FC Basel Fussballerin Alayah Pilgrim und stellte ihr acht Fragen". CONTENT HUB | baselundregion.ch. 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Pilgrim wechselt zum Meister". www.derfreiaemter.ch.
- ^ "Women's Super League: Servette Chênois s'incline à nouveau en finale contre Zurich". RTSSport.ch. 2 June 2023.
- ^ "Alayah Pilgrim Joins Roma!". asroma.com. 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b Bahechar, Hakim (7 July 2023). "Entretien avec la footballeuse professionnelle Alayah Pilgrim "C'est un privilège d'être courtisée par le Maroc"".
- ^ "تجمع إعدادي للمنتخب الوطني لكرة القدم النسوية – FRMF". 1 January 1970.
- ^ "26 joueuses dans la dernière sélection de Nils Nielsen". Association Suisse de Football (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ "Équipe nationale féminine : défaite contre l'Italie pour le début de la Ligue des Nations". Association Suisse de Football (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Porträt einer Fussballerin, die du kennen musst". Watson.
External links
edit- Alayah Pilgrim at Soccerway
- Football.ch profile