Camille Abily

Camille Anne Françoise Abily (born 5 December 1984) is a French football manager and former player, who featured prominently for both the France women's national team and for Lyon in the Division 1 Féminine. She currently is the assistant manager of Lyon, and will be moving to Chelsea in the same role alongside Sonia Bompastor's move as manager on 1 July 2024.

As a player, Abily played primarily as an midfielder. She was a two-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Female Player of the Year and, following her second consecutive honour in 2007, became the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Following a move to the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league in the United States, she earned numerous Player of the Month and All-Star honors.

Abily began her football career in 1992, joining Jeanne d'Arc Bruz. In 1994, she joined nearby club FC Bruz. After a year's stint at another local club, Abily spent time in the first division playing for Stade Briochin and La Roche-sur-Yon. In 2002, she was selected to attend the women's section of the nationally recognized Clairefontaine academy. After her stint at Clairefontaine, Abily signed with Montpellier and won two league titles while at the club, as well as the Challenge de France, the women's domestic cup. After three seasons with Montpellier, Abily joined Lyon. Similar to her stint at Montpellier, she won several titles, which included three straight league titles from 2006 to 2009. In 2008, Abily joined the new United States-based women's soccer league, Women's Professional Soccer, after her American playing rights were chosen by the Los Angeles Sol in the 2008 WPS International Draft. After helping the Sol win the league, Abily returned to France where she played for Paris Saint-Germain on loan. In 2010, she returned to the United States to play with FC Gold Pride and, subsequently, won her second consecutive title in the league. In 2010, Abily announced that she would be returning to Lyon for the 2010–11 season and, subsequently, became a part of the Olympique Lyon team that won their first UEFA Women's Champions League title.

Abily also earned 183 caps as a French international. Prior to playing for the senior team, she played at youth level representing the under-18 team at the 2001 UEFA Women's Under-18 Championship. Abily made her senior international debut in September 2001, in a friendly match against the Netherlands. She scored her first goal for the national team six years later in a 2–0 win over China in February 2007. Abily made her major international tournament debut for the team at UEFA Women's Euro 2005 and later played on the teams that qualified for UEFA Women's Euro 2009, UEFA Women's Euro 2013 as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011 and 2015, finishing fourth place in the former.

Club career
Abily has won the league with her respective club on four occasions. She won two titles with Montpellier and back-to-back titles with Lyon. During two of those title runs, she was selected as the Female Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007. In 2010, she won the WPS Championship with the FC Gold Pride.

In March 2009, she joined the new United States-based women's soccer league, Women's Professional Soccer, after her American playing rights were assigned to the Los Angeles Sol. She made her debut in the league's inaugural match against the Washington Freedom, which included her French compatriot Sonia Bompastor, and scored the second goal in the Sol's 2–0 victory. On 7 January 2010 Abily was traded to FC Gold Pride. She played in 17 games, scoring one goal and having six assists. On 27 September, Abily's contract with the Gold Pride was mutually terminated as she decided to return to Lyon and focus on the upcoming 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

After spending 8 seasons at Lyon during her second stint there, Abily retired in 2018.

International career
Abily made her international debut for Les Bleues on 26 September 2001 in a match against the Netherlands.

At the opening match of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 1–0 win over England in Moncton, Abily controversially escaped punishment when she inflicted a black eye on Laura Bassett by elbowing the English player in the face.

She also competed for France at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics, achieving fourth place in the 2012 tournament.

Abily retired from international football in 2017, citing a desire to spend more time with her daughter.

Managerial career
As of 2023, Abily is working as assistant manager for Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.

Club
Statistics accurate as of 1 September 2016

International



 * (Correct as of 1 September 2016)

Club

 * Montpellier HSC
 * Division 1 Féminine: 2004, 2005
 * Coupe de France Féminine: 2006
 * FC Gold Pride
 * WPS Championship: 2010
 * Lyon
 * Division 1 Féminine: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
 * Coupe de France Féminine: 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
 * UEFA Women's Champions League: 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018

International

 * France
 * Cyprus Cup: 2012, 2014
 * SheBelieves Cup: 2017

Individual

 * UNFP Female Player of the Year: 2005–06, 2006–07
 * WPS Player of the Month: June 2009
 * WPS All-Star: 2009