Loza Abera
{{Short description|Ethiopian football player (born 1997)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Loza Abera (ሎዛ አበራ)
| fullname = Loza Abera Geinore
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1997|10|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = Durame, Ethiopia
| height =
| position = Forward
| currentclub = DC Power FC
| clubnumber = 30
| years1 = 2012–14
| clubs1 = Hawassa City
| caps1 = 28
| goals1 = 44
| years2 = 2014–18
| clubs2 = Dedebit
| caps2 = 86
| goals2 = 148
| years3 = 2018
| clubs3 = Kungsbacka DFF
| caps3 = 13
| goals3 = 9
| years4 = 2018–19
| clubs4 = Adama City
| caps4 = 9
| goals4 = 17
| years5 = 2019–2020
| caps5 = 14
| goals5 = 34
| years6 = 2020–2024
| clubs6 = CBE F.C.
| caps6 = 66
| goals6 = 74
| years7 = 2023-2024
| clubs7 = Virginia Marauders FC women
| caps7 = 11
| goals7 = 10
| years8 = 2024 -
| clubs8 = DC Power FC
| caps8 =
| goals8 =
| nationalyears1 = 2011–2015
| nationalteam1 = Ethiopia U20
| nationalcaps1 =
| nationalgoals1 =
| nationalyears2 = 2015–
| nationalteam2 = Ethiopia
| nationalcaps2 = 31
| nationalgoals2 = 39{{cite web | url=https://lozabera.com/profile/ | title=Profile }}
| medaltemplates =
| club-update = 30 October 2023
| nationalteam-update = 25 October 2023
}}Loza Abera Geinore (Amharic: ሎዛ አበራ; born 2 October 1997) is an Ethiopian professional footballer who plays for DC Power FC in the USL Super League and the Ethiopia women's national team as a forward. She previously played for USL W League club Virginia Marauders and Nigd Bank in the Ethiopian Women's Premier League. {{cite web|url=http://www.geeskaafrika.com/ethiopias-national-womens-team-win-over-burkina-faso/10771/|title= Ethiopia's National Women's Team Win Over Burkina Faso|work=geeskaafrika.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.soccerethiopia.net/football/player/%E1%88%8E%E1%8B%9B-%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%A0%E1%88%AB|title= ሎዛ አበራ|work=soccerethiopia.net}}
Early life
She was the third child of her family and the only female player in her neighborhood, she used to play football with mainly male composed teams both in school football matches and neighborhood football matches in her town Durame. Loza started playing football at the age of six.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethiosports.com/2015/10/31/loza-abera-the-promising-goal-prodigy/|title=Loza Abera, the promising goal prodigy|last=Samuel|first=Rahel|date=October 31, 2019|work=Ethiosports}} In 2011, she participated in the All Ethiopian Games, a tournament in which she represented the SNNP regional state and scored seven goals. That became her initial momentum to get noticed by Ethiopian women's national team recruiters.
Club career
=Ethiopia=
Abera joined her first professional club, Hawassa City S.C. Women, in 2012. Spending two years at the club, she helped the club to two 3rd-place finishes in the league while being the team's top goal scorer for both seasons.
After an invitation from then coach Asrat Abate, Abera joined Dedebit F.C. Women (now defunct). She spent four years at Dedebit F.C., winning the League and top goal scorer honors in all four years. She finished the 2015–16 EWPL season with 47 goals during season and 10 goals in the playoff competition.{{Cite news|url=http://www.soccerethiopia.net/football/14163|title=Dedebit Crowned Champions of the Ethiopian Women's Premier League|last=Taddele|first=Omna|date=July 2, 2016|work=Soccer Ethiopia}}
Despite lucrative offers from various teams, she made a promise to herself to finish high school. She did, and went on to Addis-Abeba University school of commerce while signing contracts from the area.{{Cite web|last=Medina|first=Kai|date=December 2020|title=Inspiring Women|url=https://kaimedinae.wixsite.com/notkia/influentialwomen|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213151649/https://kaimedinae.wixsite.com/notkia/influentialwomen|archive-date=2020-12-13|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Kai Medina|language=en}}
Abera signed with Adama City Women midway through the 2018–19 EWPL season after her brief stint in Sweden with Kungsbaka DFF. Continuing her success in her home country, she helped Adama City win its first ever EWPL title.{{Cite news|url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/birkirkara-women-sign-ethiopia-forward-loza-abera.737941|title=Birkirkara women sign Ethiopia forward Loza Abera|last=Lia|first=Gianluca|date=September 25, 2019|work=Times of Malta}}
After six seasons playing in the EWPL, Abera has scored over 200 goals and holds the record for most goals in the league's history. In November 2020, she signed for Nigd Bank of the Ethiopian Women's Premier League.{{Cite news|last=Legesse|first=Mikael|date=November 5, 2020|title=ሎዛ አበራ ንግድ ባንክን በይፋ ተቀላቀለች|work=Soccer Ethiopia|url=https://soccerethiopia.net/football/61402}}
In 2024, Loza Abera signed with DC Power FC, a team ranked 7th in the USL Super League. This move marks a major step in her career as she continues to showcase her talent on an international platform. Loza’s signing with the US-based club highlights her growing reputation as one of Ethiopia's top football talents and strengthens her presence in the global women's football scene.
=Abroad =
Abera has had trials with Antalyaspor (Turkey) and Kungsbaka DFF (Sweden). During her stay in Kungsbaka, she helped the team win a regional title and gain promotion to the top tier.{{Cite news|url=https://liyusport.com/?p=1562&lang=en|title=Loza Abera: The Ethiopian Goal Machine Turning Heads in Malta|last=Nnadiegbulam|first=Chibuogwu|date=December 11, 2019|work=Liyusport}} However, her stay with the club ended after the season due to financial reasons.
In September 2019, she signed for Birkirkara F.C. (women) Women of the Malta Women's Premier League. She finished her first season as the Maltese league's top goal scorer with 30 goals in 12 appearances.{{Cite news|last=Ahmadu|first=Samuel|date=May 26, 2020|title=Anu's Birkirkara retain BOV Women's League title as Abera emerges top scorer in Malta|work=Goal|url=https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/anus-birkirkara-retain-bov-womens-league-title-as-abera/84gud20jdz8y14iofchfh6cop}}
Awards
Abera was included on the list of the BBC's list of 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.{{Cite news|date=2020-11-23|title=BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55042935|access-date=2020-11-23}}
References
{{Reflist}}
ሎዛ አበራ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abera, Loza}}
Category:Women's association football forwards
Category:Ethiopian women's footballers